


Adphant Calendar

by Phantje



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 25 days, Advent Calendar, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Baking, Christmas, Dan Howell - Freeform, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Phil Lester - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-03 14:03:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8716696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantje/pseuds/Phantje
Summary: Dan works in a small and cosy café in London. He loves his work but even more so, he loves Christmas.Phil works in a big and anonymous bank in London. He hates his works and is annoyed to see anyone happy at Christmas. Dan and Phil's paths meet, bringing two men of very different character together. Before they spend Christmas together there is a lot to learn about each other, a task they both willingly complete. 
(Updates every day in December late in the afternoon (European time...) :D )





	1. December 1st

**Author's Note:**

> There we go! I'll keep on entertaining you lot until the 25th of December. I hope you enjoy the first day. If you have any alterations to propose in regards to the tagging or summary, I will be more than greatful (I am still rubbish at those!). Happy December! <3

DAN’S POV

Dan opened his eyes and felt excited immediately. Today was the first of December. Perhaps that wasn’t exactly something everyone would be excited about but it was safe to say that Dan was. He was even that excited that he practically jumped out of his bed. He never did that on a normal day. The only exception might have been his birthday in June but not even on that special day was he feeling great immediately after opening his eyes. This kind of behaviour was only ever evoked on the first of December. For Dan the first of December meant that he could finally start singing along to Christmas songs. Singing along was one of Dan’s greatest passions, funny to think that no one would have assumed he was that kind of person when one looked at him for the first time.  
Dan was fairly tall, for a Brit at least. He had a brown fringe and a smiling face. Whenever he was actually properly amused about something one could see a dimple in his cheek. Most of the time he was wearing black clothes. Clothes he liked to say resembled his soul but resembled his flat in reality. Even though every wall in Dan’s home was white the dark furniture made it look very modern and cold. Only when one looked at it for a second time one was able to see that even an apartment like this could be cosy. Dan for one really liked his flat. He was very eager to keep everything clean and symmetrical, something which was far easier in a flat like this.  
Only in December Dan dared to decorate his flat slightly. Over the rest of the year there were one or two candles he often was too lazy to light because he was coming home tired after working hard during the day.  
Even though Dan couldn’t wait to start with feeling properly festive he hadn’t yet put up any decorations. He decided to do it today or tomorrow perhaps. Since forever it had been a rule in his family that decorations were to be put up on the first of December or perhaps the weekend before. Everything else was too early. Feeling festive was never wrong but looking forward to Christmas in the middle of October was definitely a little too early. The same was with Christmas music. No matter how beautiful it was listening to it earlier than the first of December or perhaps even in summer was a crime in Dan’s family. He often shook his head about the absurdity of these rules but he lived after them nevertheless.  
That was also the main reason why he was enormously excited this morning. He was finally able to sing along to Christmas songs without feeling guilty because of breaking the rules and without feeling seasonally inappropriate.  
Already while brushing his teeth Dan was humming several different tunes. He couldn’t decide which song he wanted to sing so he simply changed every few seconds. Sadly this behaviour always caused Dan to get sick of the songs he was singing fairly quickly. Starting to sing them still felt great every year so Dan couldn’t stop destroying the songs as quickly as possible.  
Dan walked on into the kitchen theatrically singing “Joy to the world”. He had a lot of fun doing so and danced through his lounge with jumping over the couch for example.  
After Dan drank a cup of coffee he walked back into his room and put on some black skinny jeans and a grey pullover. He did have some Christmas jumpers as well but he didn’t want to push Christmas too far already. After checking if he could actually go into public like this, Dan put on a jacket and walked out of the door. He locked the door and hurried towards his place of work. The weather wasn’t too good. It was the misty, rainy London weather he was used to. No matter how beautiful London looked because of the Christmas decorations on every corner Dan decided to walk past them to arrive on time.  
If he was being honest Dan was also hurrying down the streets because he was still quite cross with whoever decided to put up the Christmas decorations this early. After all it felt like Halloween was barely over when they started putting up the brilliant lights. To be fair most of the people waited till Bonfire Night was over. But still. November was not yet to be considered Christmas. Another reason for Dan hurrying down the streets was that he liked his place of work as much as that he would not mind arriving a little early. That was actually what he liked doing the most. When he arrived early he had the café for himself for a few moments. Yes, Dan was a waiter in a café. But saying it like this did not show how special his job actually was and how special Dan was for the job, meaning how unfitted he seemed for it at first sight.  
Dan arrived at the café and unlocked the door. He was walking inside and closed it again. Then he switched on the lights and the CD player. Dan and Margret, the chef of the café had decided they would not yet play Christmas music. They would start decorating the café today and put on music tomorrow.  
Dan breathed out happily and looked around the café. His heart would never not beat faster when he looked at the beautiful interior design. As the building itself was pretty old the ceiling was pretty low. Even though Dan was pretty tall for a British person he did not have any difficulties walking around the café. Only when he had to go to the toilet he had to take care not to bump his head against a beam.  
After simply looking around for a while Dan walked around the tables and lit the candles. The wallpaper and the cover from the chairs, cushions and sofas were all pretty dark, not to mention the thick red curtains. That was why one had to illuminate the room as much as possible. No matter what season or how the weather was it was always cosy inside the café. It looked like time had stopped in here. A lot of customers already said that it felt like they were finally able to breathe when they walked through the door into the café.  
Dan himself was very happy with his place of work as well. He could have neither wished for a nicer location nor a nicer chef. Margret was very nice and she always helped him where she could. So far that had only been in matters of baking but Dan knew she was a very kind human being.  
After lighting all the candles Dan switched on a few additional lights and started making tea. Margret insisted on only selling tea in the café. She wanted it to be as traditional and British as possible so they only sold water, soft drinks and tea. Not only black tea though, they had Breakfast tea, Afternoon tea but it would take too long to name all the flavours and kinds of tea. Let’s simply say they had a lot of tea.  
A few minutes into making tea the door of the café opened and Margret walked inside. She smiled happily as she saw Dan.  
“It’s very good to see you!” she said enthusiastically. Dan wondered why she was being like this as they had seen each other only yesterday but then he remembered that Margret was just as much a maniac about December as he was.  
“It’s great to see you too!” Dan said and smiled widely.  
“May you help me get out some decorations out of my car? I’ll take the cake.” Margret said. Dan and Margret always baked cake in taking turns. They got delivered several different cakes but for them it was very important to have self-made cake as well. They even baked a different cake in the café each day. They simply wanted their customers to experience the joy of smelling self-made cake again. One wouldn’t think how many of the customers hadn’t smelled something like that in ages.  
Dan quickly followed Margret out the door and carried the decorations into the café. He was very excited for helping decorating the café today. He always loved decorating for Christmas but in the café he liked it even more. The atmosphere was amazing no matter what season so decorating for Christmas would make it even better. This would be the second Christmas Dan spend in the café. Sadly he hadn’t been able to help Margret decorating last year so he wanted to enjoy it very much this time.  
There was a lot to do for Margret and Dan. As usual in December there were coming the most customers into the café but that was not everything. They also had to decorate everything, serve the customers and bake a new cake.  
At the end of the day Dan was very exhausted and tired. He did not even have time and energy to decorate his own flat but he was happy nevertheless.  
For him the December was not necessarily a calm time of the year where one patiently waited for Christmas to come, it was much more the most stressful time of the year, and yet he enjoyed it very much. Dan loved his place of work more than anything he had already met several nice people and he was more than sure to be meeting more in the future. 

 

PHIL’S POV

Phil’s reaction to his alarm clock waking him was not strong. Neither positive nor negative. He simply sighed deeply and sat up.  
It was still dark outside. Horribly dark. Too dark to be awake already but work wanted him to be. Work, another great thought to ruin his day. Phil did not like his work very much, it was pretty safe to say that there was nothing he hated more at the moment. He had always liked the thought of being a banker. Still being very young he had known that a job where one had to work with other people was the only possible option for him. During his studies Phil had already assumed that banker wasn’t the ideal job he could have chosen. As he started working for Mr. Herb this assumption proved to be right. Bankers could not be counted as people. Phil was pretty friendly in general, he had always attracted weird people but the people he met at his place of work were by far the weirdest ones. Sadly not one was weird in a positive kind of way. Sometimes Phil still dared to hope that some of them could turn out to be nice but so far those kinds of hopes had never been reasonable.  
Phil sighed once more before scuffling into the bathroom and on into the kitchen. He miserably ate a bowl of cereal before dressing. Another thing he did not understand: why did all the bankers always had to wear fancy clothes? It was very hard work to put them on in the morning and clean them in the evening. It would be a lot more comfy to be able to choose what to wear themselves. Phil had already had this kind of conversation with one of his colleagues who had laughed at him and told him that he could still chose the tie. Phil had rolled his eyes and turned away.  
This year, Phil wouldn’t even be able to put on any of his Christmas jumpers with all the strict clothing he had for work. When he came home he was far too grumpy to want to change into a jumper for the evening. All he did was taking a shower, eating something and going to sleep.  
Phil never imagined to have such a stupid routine in his working day. There had to be more about life than simply going to work, eating and sleeping.  
Phil sighed a lot in the last time. But only ever when he was alone. He did not dare to sigh in front of Mr. Herb, his colleagues or his mother. His mother in particular. She was always very concerned that he was doing well. That was nice of her but her sympathy would only show Phil how wrong he had been in the choice of his job.  
After waiting for as long as possible and several sighs Phil finally got up and walked out of the door. The second he left the warmth of his house he felt sorry for himself. Sullenly he walked through the streets. A very bright light blinded him. He squeezed shut his eyes and walked on. Directly into a puddle. Instead of swearing he only sighed deeply and walked on.  
This year he was not able to feel Christmas-y in any way. Everything about it only made him pity himself. Whenever there were people happily drinking mulled vine or buying presents he was feeling miserable. Not only did he think that they started the fuss pretty early, Phil was also very aware how unhappy he was with his life in general at the moment. Nothing ever seemed to be bright for him, except for stupid lights in the street of course.  
Sullenly Phil walked into the bank smiled forcedly at Mr Herb and ended work with the same great mood. As he was going to bed later that day he thought about starting to cry. He hadn’t even decorated anything yet. And he hadn’t spoken to one nice person this day. What was there not to pity about him?


	2. December 2nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way I wrote this Advent Calendar last year for my sister, that's why the days don't match up. I hope you can look past my horrendous mistake! :D <3 Enjoy, today'S chapter.

DAN’S POV

On the second of December Dan was usually as happy as he was on the first. Well, only because he usually was, did not mean that he had to be this year. Especially not if it was raining outside. Somehow Dan had hoped that the rain which endured the whole November would have stopped in December or at least had turned into snow but he had no such luck. On the second of December it was raining harshly. If Dan would have been able to stay at home he would have actually really liked the sound of the raindrops crashing against his window but as he had to get out there in any second, he was not happy at all.  
Dan quickly put on some random clothes he found which turned out to be a plain grey jumper with some dirt from the cake he had baked yesterday. He simply shrugged it off, put on a raincoat and ran towards the café. Today he had an even better reason to run as fast as he could.  
He unlocked the door to the café, being first once again. He let out a deep sigh and shook himself like a dog. He laughed at his ridiculous behaviour and got out of his soaked coat. He took a few deep breaths and as his body finally fully realised that he was back in the café he managed to calm down entirely.  
A huge grin appeared on his face and he ran over to the stereo. Some good music would help him shake off his sleep. He decided to listen to Fall out Boy and danced through the café humming along the lines. As he finally finished with lighting all the candles and putting on all the lights he was immensely proud of his work. The café looked as nice as always and he couldn’t wait for customers to arrive and admire the work he had done.  
The first one to arrive actually was a customer and not his chef. Luckily the customer did not want any cake so Dan quickly served the green tea and spoke about weather for a second. Weather was the most boring topic of all time but it helped him to get customers talk to him. He would have liked to continue talking but the bell on the door announced another customer. This continued to happen all day long but Dan would never complain. How could he? The people coming into his café were generally nice. Yes, this café was Dan’s as well. Margret and he agreed to call it their café even though technically speaking she was the chef.  
Margret herself arrived about an hour late. She smiled apologetically as she walked through the door. Dan tried to shoot her a scolding glance but he failed and smiled warmly instead.  
“Sorry. I forgot it was my cake week.” She said and put a cake onto the counter.” Margret said and breathed heavily.  
“I tend to forget as well. Don’t think about it!” Dan said and got the cake out of the box.   
“I’ll be very glad when it’s your turn next week.” Margret said and got out of her coat.  
“Thanks for reminding me.” Dan said towards her before greeting a new customer.  
Margret joined Dan behind the counter and they drank their first tea together. As it was about 10 o’clock Margret excused herself to work in the office. No matter how small a café was there was always a lot of paper work to do.   
Dan was left alone in the front but he didn’t mind. He occasionally talked to customers, ranged and washed up the dishes. It was very calming for him, especially with the calm Christmas music playing in the background.   
Usually when he did not expect it at all Dan was granted with some extra money the customers, mostly women, gave him. He always smiled shyly whenever that was the case what should he say? He could not give it back but he also never really kept it for himself either. With all the money he collected over the year he brought a Christmas and birthday present for Margret. He had never told her where he had the money from but he thought Margret wouldn’t even want to know.  
Dan quietly hummed a melody while pouring tea into a cup for himself as he heard the bell of the door go off. He firstly did not look as the customer would surely come to him sooner or less. He finished with the tea and grabbed the milk. As he looked up he saw the customer and froze. A tall black haired men stood by the door and ruffled his hair to get the wet out of it. Dan did not know why but he couldn’t stop staring at the stranger. He was enormously handsome even if Dan only saw him from distance. Dan’s eyes surely grew wider with every second he stared at the stranger but he couldn’t stop.  
Eventually he stopped but only because Margret cleared her throat and threw a cloth at his face.   
“Clean up the mess, would you?” she asked and her eyes glittered funnily.  
Dan looked onto the counter and saw that he spilled milk everywhere. He felt his face heating up and quickly dried everything. While doing so he cursed himself for not putting on a more decent and clean shirt. Too late now. He sighed quietly and put on a smile. The stranger ordered a hot chocolate with lactose free milk and blended with flake without even looking into Dan’s face.

 

PHIL’S POV

The second of December was even worse than the first. There had been several puddles around London yesterday but today it was worse as it was raining heavily.  
Phil sighed deeply and got out of his bed. It felt horrible to neglect the warm comfort of his comfy bed. He grumpily walked into his lounge and sat down on the sofa. He nearly fell asleep again but quickly remembered he had to get dressed. After brushing his teeth and moisturising his face he put on a black suit. Initially he forgot the tie, put on his coat and left for work. Luckily he had remembered to grab an umbrella in the last second. That was why he was not completely soaked through when he arrived at work. Phil smiled as brightly as he could as Mr. Herb walked past him. The later simply nodded and seemed quite irritated before he walked on to a college of Phil’s. Phil sighed and sat down at his desk. This day would surely be even worse than yesterday, Phil knew it.  
He worked the best he could until it was time for his lunch break. He decided to get out into town and eat somewhere else than the cafeteria of the bank. The food was horrible and a bit of fresh air would surely do him good. Phil had already quite forgotten that it was raining heavily but as he stood in the door he walked out into the wet nevertheless. Getting wet was still better than staying in one building for the whole day.  
Phil practically ran through a couple of streets to get his head clear. He was tired of thinking about numbers all the time. He wanted to think about something else, preferably Christmas, but he wasn’t really able to. This year it did not feel like Christmas at all. What a pity.  
Phil walked on for a couple of minutes until he spotted a small café. As if fate wanted him there it suddenly started raining hardly and Phil practically burst into the café.  
He tried to dry his hair with his hands. Phil shook his head quickly, making water droplets splatter everywhere and took a deep breath. The café smelled like warmth. It was very enchanting. Even if Phil only walked into it a few moments ago he suddenly felt very calm. He took a few deep breaths and detected more than just warmth. The café also smelled like Christmas! Phil started smiling and walked over to the counter. While he looked around the café he absently ordered a hot chocolate with lactose free milk and blended with flake. A friend of his had introduced him to this drink and ever since then he kept ordering it.  
Without waiting for an answer, Phil turned around and sat down near a window. In the warmth of the café the bad weather wasn’t nearly as it was outside. The rain softly fell against the window and Phil had to smile. It was very calming.  
Even though Phil would usually fall asleep in an environment as this he only grew more happy with himself. He sipped his hot chocolate, which magically appeared in front of him and looked out of the window. After a few minutes Phil even started humming along the lines of a Christmas song he heard playing in the background. He was completely happy with himself until he checked his watch and saw that he should better be going.  
He put a ten pound mark onto the table and rushed out of the café. It was still raining heavily but Phil managed to stay positive until he sat down at his desk again. As he saw the same numbers he had worked with earlier today he sighed deeply and started working again without any enthusiasm left from when he had been in the café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to spread the Christmas spirit in the comments! ;) <3


	3. December 3rd

DAN’S POV

Dan’s alarm clock woke him earlier than usual. He squinted his eyes shut and hit the snooze button. He was already awake but there was no need to show that to the alarm clock. They were very mean creatures you had to be very sure with how much you showed them. If they knew they won against you it was very likely that they would use that wisdom as a weapon against you. Dan shook his head and got up. He wanted to stop thinking about alarm clocks and he also remembered why he had sat his alarm clock earlier than usual. Yesterday evening when he had been about to go to bed Margret had called him to say that she was horribly ill. She asked him to bake a cake for the next day and run the café all alone. That was why, on the third of December, Dan got up earlier and quickly baked some cookies. There was not much time until he had to open the café so there was no way he could have made a complete cake. When the cookies were all finished he put them into a box and left for work.  
In a way the weather was even worse than the day before. It was no longer raining but everything was grey and still kind of moist. If one had to describe weather with the word moist one could be sure that it was in fact, awful. Dan quickly walked to the café and prepared everything for the customers. A loyal one appeared fairly quickly and Dan was immediately able to sell one of his cookies. The customer acted as if it would ruin him to be buying a cookie but Dan knew better and sold him two at a time.  
The whole day was less horrible then Dan had expected it to be. Sure it was very stressful being the only responsible one in the café as it also meant he had no possibility to take a break, but he stood through it very bravely.   
As it turned to be afternoon Dan started thinking about the strangely handsome customer who came into the café yesterday. It must have been someone who would only came once. Without knowing why, Dan suddenly felt very sad. He did not know anything about the customer and yet he wished he would have come by today as well.   
While he drank tea and waited for the customers to tell him they wanted some more, Dan thought about why on earth the customer had looked so well. He had worn a suit. It wasn’t a secret that men in suits looked enormously attractive. Dan was sure if he would put on a suit it would only look ridiculous. To return to the actual question: Dan was sure there was something else about the customer that amazed him. It was not only his suit. Even though he hadn’t yet, and probably never will have the chance to look into his face properly, Dan saw even from afar that the contours were very fine and almost fragile. The customer looked not good in the norms of society but Dan for one really liked looking at him. Even when he had brought him his drink he couldn’t stop himself from starring at the man. Luckily the man didn’t notice. Dan bet that he didn’t even notice Dan bringing him his hot chocolate.   
Dan shook his head and sighed. It was not normal for him to think about a customer in that way especially not if he hadn’t even talked to him yet.  
Sighing once more Dan continued working. Still, whenever the bell rang he found himself wondering if it was the good looking stranger again.  
Only as he closed the door and walked off into the dark evening Dan was able to accept that the customer would not be coming back. At least not today. 

 

PHIL’S POV

The morning of the third of December was as bad as all the other mornings he had experienced in December or to be exact, the whole year. Being a banker wasn’t nearly as much fun as Phil had imagined it to be. Studying it had been less bad as actually being a banker but that might have something to do with the fact that when he had been studying he had still had some friends around him that made him forget about the numbers.  
The day did not start well and it did not end well. Phil had been working hard simply trying to figure out if doing so would improve his mood. As he munched the awful food in his lunch break he resumed that it hadn’t been worth it at all. He was completely exhausted and did not want to do anything except for sleeping. Only when he found himself starring out of the window and listening to a Christmas song one of his colleges was humming he remembered that he hadn’t been nearly as frustrated yesterday.   
Phil had to think about it for a couple of minutes before he remembered why. Yesterday he had spent his lunchbreak in a lovely café. The hot chocolate one had served him had easily been one of the best he had ever tasted. While Phil stared outside the window he noticed how much he wanted to go back to that small café. Unfortunately he couldn’t. At least not know. There was a lot work to do for him. The thought of perhaps being able to have another nice cup of hot chocolate after work made Phil survive the day of work.  
As he was finally able to turn off the computer and put on his coat he couldn’t wait to open the doors to the café again. Sadly it took him several minutes before he found the café. He hadn’t remembered the exact way so he had to go the exact way which turned out to be far more complicated than it needed to be.  
As Phil arrived at the café he noticed horrified that it was already closed. Not one light was still shining in the inside. Phil was enormously frustrated as he saw that. All he had wanted to do for the last couple of hours was drinking a hot chocolate. Now not even that wish was granted. Phil debated whether he should go into the next coffee shop he saw but he decided not to. No hot chocolate could ever be as good as the one from the café. Phil sighed and slowly made his way back to his flat. He sat down on the couch and watched a show on telly where some people were testing Christmas crackers. It was rubbish but it made him sleepy and that was something he needed just as much as the hot chocolate. The last thing Phil hoped for before falling asleep was that he would make it to the café on the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment and kudos if you feel like it! <3 :D Have a great day! :)


	4. December 4th

DAN’S POV

The fourth of December was a Friday. A Friday in December was one of the best things in life. Dan was sure of it. What else would be as inviting as a nice cosy Friday evening in December where it would be finally appropriate and not sentenced with dead to watch a Christmas film?  
Dan got out of his bed and slowly made himself ready for work. Margret had called again yesterday evening but only to tell him that she would be back on Friday and that he did not have to bake a cake to cover for her.  
Dan walked to the café and happily noticed that the air turned cooler. Perhaps they would be finally granted with some snow. Yet again that was pretty unlikely, considering that he was living in London. Which was a British town. The whole world knew that it was pretty unlikely for the weather to do something else than raining.   
Dan missed the snow. When he had been younger he and his brother, in fact the whole family really liked to go outside and play in the snow. In London he had never had the urge to do so but that might have also been because it had never snowed so far.  
Smiling brightly, Dan opened the door to the café. Margret was already there and she had already lit all the candles.  
“That looks amazing!” Dan said and got out of his coat.  
“Oh stop it. As if you wouldn’t be doing that every day!” Margret said and handed him a cup of tea. Dan only laughed at her words and happily took a sip of the tea.  
They spoke for a few minutes before the bell rang and a customer, in fact a mother with a small child walked into the café. Dan walked around the counter and grabbed a basked with sweets. He kneeled down and smiled to the girl.   
“Do you want some sweets?” He asked kindly. The girl smiled at him and quickly looked at her mother to see if she was fine with her grabbing something.  
“Go on then. But remember to say Thank you.” She said and smiled warmly.  
“Thank you.” The girl said and Dan’s whole body warmed up.   
“You’re welcome. You also have a great taste in chocolate if I may say so. I couldn’t have made a better choice.” He said and winked at the girl. She giggled and hid behind her mother.  
“Thank you. You’re very kind.” The mother said and Dan stood up again.  
“Pleasure.” He said and nodded before smiling brightly.  
After that short encounter with the small girl, Dan got behind the counter again and prepared a few trays for the customers he knew would come sooner or later.   
Even around lunch he was still thinking about the small girl. He loved children. And kind customers, like her mom. Thinking about customers… It was a pity the good looking customer did not turn up yesterday. “He must have been on a work trip.” Dan concluded after thinking about it for a moment. He smiled sadly but was able to forget his thoughts as a loyal customer called him to his table.   
After Dan had finished the conversation with the friendly man who just wanted to know what kind of present he could give to his wife for Christmas, Dan turned around and his heart missed a beat. There at the counter there was standing the good looking customer. No doubt! It certainly was him. He was talking to Margret. Probably ordering his hot chocolate with lactose free milk, blended with flake again.  
Dan starred at him but remembered to start moving. Luckily, otherwise it would have looked very weird. The whole time the good looking customer was sipping his hot chocolate Dan debated with himself whether he should go over to him or simply ignore him. Okay, Dan could never ignore him. He was staring at him constantly. How should he go over to ignoring him now?   
Just as Dan nearly built up enough courage to go over to the customer and talk to him the man stood up and left. Once again he left a ten pound note on the table. That was far too much than he should have paid but as he was already gone Dan could not do anything about it. If the customer was ever to come back Dan would give him the money he unnecessarily gave to them, after all, it could not be a tip, for the customer had never even noticed Dan.

 

PHIL’S POV

Already when Phil woke up he was determined to go to the café today, at any cost.   
He nearly did not think about anything else and he was really looking forward to being enchanted by the atmosphere once again.  
Phil tried to work as concentrated as he could but he kept messing up numbers so that he often had to start all over again, something which tended to happen to him when he was really looking forward to something. It was kind of ridiculous to think that all this fuss was about nothing but visiting a café. Still Phil was determined and he wouldn’t miss the chance of forgetting the dull numbers for the world.  
As he saw his colleges getting up from their desks Phil jumped up and practically ran to the café. After taking a deep breath, to prepare himself for the lovely atmosphere he walked inside, ordered his drink and rejoiced as he saw that the place he had been sitting on was still empty. He quickly walked over and closed his eyes for a few moments. He took several deep breaths and a smile started forming on his lips. He leaned back in his chair and opened his eyes again.  
Last time he had been in here he had been in a rush and he had been very grumpy. Now he took his time to look around the café and not only starring out of the window. The café was kind of small but large enough to not make anyone feel claustrophobic. The atmosphere was amazing, so was the smell. Phil had the impression that someone had been baking something. As he looked around he saw that several customers had cakes on the tables in front of them. If he wouldn’t enjoy his position as much he would surely get up and buy himself a slice of cake. Instead he stayed where he was and decided he would eat a cake the next time he visited.  
The café was pretty dark as to furniture and wallpaper but the candles and additional lights made it look very cosy and comforting. Not dark or scary at all.   
After the hour Phil spent in the café, he was feeling very calm and odd as it sounds, at ease with himself. For once he did not feel like screaming when he continued working with the numbers. He didn’t even mess up any of them.   
At the end of the day he even found himself looking forward to Monday even if that meant working it would also mean he would be able to spend some time in the café again – a thought which truly lifted Phil’s spirits.   
A thing Phil looked forward to in regards to the weekend was surely sleeping long. No matter how nice the café was, the lack of sleep Phil usually suffered under during the week needed to be erased with a nice lazy Saturday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely Sunday! <3 And do leave a comment and kudos if you feel like it! <3


	5. December 5th

DAN’S POV

Some people might not like working on Saturdays. Dan for one really liked it. The people who were coming into the café on a Saturday were even nicer than the customers during the week. Everyone was more relaxed and no one had to rush anywhere. The atmosphere was lovely in the café on days like this.   
Dan woke up pretty early no matter how late it had gotten on the evening before. As he could not find back any sleep he decided to get ready and head towards the café. If he arrived early, chances were high that he would be able to decorate a little more.  
As Dan opened the door to the café he wasn’t surprised that he was alone. Margret would probably turn up in about half an hour, if she was going to be early. Dan walked over to the stereo and put on some Muse. While he got the box of decoration out of the office he sang along to “Big freeze”. One of his favourite songs by his favourite band. Dan was completely lost in his own little world when he decorated the café and literally screamed out loud as someone cleared his throat behind his back.  
He spun around and held the candle he was holding like a sword. “I’m armed!” he shouted and squinted shut his eyes.  
“I can see that.” Margret said sarcastically and laughed.  
“Oh it’s you.” Dan said and put down the sword, well the candle that is.  
“Of course it’s me. You weren’t expecting someone else, were you?” Margret asked while putting a bag onto the counter.  
“I wasn’t.” Dan said and quickly put away the box of decorations.  
“Great job. Only one thing.” Margret said after inspecting the café.  
“Yes?” Dan asked.  
“Put on some Christmas music.” Margret said sternly but Dan saw that she was holding back a laugh.   
“Sure, ma’am.” Dan said and changed from Muse to some plain Christmas carols. He himself loved Muse but his mom had once told him that not everyone was able to hear the great music behind the loud noises they were making.  
Together Dan and Margret prepared the café and waited for customers to arrive. As Margret disappeared into her office once more Dan decided to try out the hot chocolate with lactose free milk and blended with flake they were always serving the good looking customer. It tasted amazing. Dan immediately wanted to drink more but a huge wave of customers came into the café and it was obvious he had to serve them first.  
Just as he was about to make himself another drink he saw the good looking customer walking through the door. His hands started trembling but he smiled brightly nevertheless. The customer however did not even look at him, once again. He was obviously not interested in him. Something which was quite obvious to Dan right from the start but it kind of hurt nevertheless. After the customer ordered his drink without looking into Dan’s eyes ones, he sat down on his usual place and looked outside the window. Dan noticed that a small smile crept onto the face of the customer. Dan sighed quietly. Like that the customer looked even more handsome than he did anyways. Today he wasn’t even wearing a suit, simply a blue shirt with pacman on the front. Dan knew he had been right. The customer looked amazing even without the magic suit which made every man (apart from him) look like a god.   
Whenever Dan thought no one would notice he carefully stared at the customer. He wasn’t as careful as he thought he was because Margret did notice what he was doing. Well, she cleared her throat and cast a knowing glance into Dan’s direction. Afterwards Dan tried to be less obvious when he was staring, no he was admiring from afar.   
On Saturday the fifth of December Dan noticed that the handsome customer stayed longer than he usually did. Perhaps he was not working today and that was why he was able to stay a little while longer. Whatever reason the customer had, Dan was really glad there was a reason.

 

PHIL’S POV

Sleeping long on a Saturday was pretty amazing. Phil felt the best he had in, what felt like ages. He stayed in bed longer than necessary, took a long shower and ate two bowl of cereal in front of the television. It was the happiest he had been in a long time.  
While Phil watched random crap on the telly he occasionally looked around his flat and noticed that it was relatively bare. The year where he had freshly moved into this flat it had looked far more festive in December. Phil decided he had to do something against it. He got a box full of decorations from the top of his drawer put on some Muse. He tried desperately to get a move on but he had no ideas how to decorate his flat in a decent but effective way.  
After he had failed at several attempts he fell onto the couch and took a few deep breaths. For this day not to turn out as bad as it seemed it was, he decided to go to the café. It was decorated in a very lovely and tasteful way. Perhaps he would be able to steal some ideas.   
Phil quickly put on some clothes not a suit for a change and walked out of his house.   
As Phil arrived in the café he did not remember to order a cake. The atmosphere stopped his thoughts. It was a wonder he was able to order his drink properly.  
As he sat down at the table he waited for his drink to arrive. As he took the first sip he finally had some ideas how he could decorate his flat. He smiled and made plans for later.   
Even though he was really fond of the atmosphere of the café he decided he should better go home and start decorating his flat.  
That was what he did in the end and he was very proud he decided to do so. Phil fell onto the couch in the evening and he was pretty exhausted. Before he started decorating his flat he knew that it would be best to clean it properly. This resulted in him being very exhausted and yet enormously proud of what he had achieved today. After taking in the lovely atmosphere and smell (thanks to a marshmallow candle he lit) he had created, Phil decided to get some rest. He stood up walked into his bedroom and fell asleep happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like the chapters are awfully short. I am really sorry!   
> Do leave comments and kudos! :) <3 Have a nice Monday! :) <3


	6. December 6th

DAN’S POV

Even though Dan really liked to be working on Saturdays he was not as fond to have to work on a Sunday. After all like that he did not have any free days during the week. Luckily his place of work wasn’t as exhausting as many others he has heard of. Dan stretched his back and got out of bed. Just because he liked his place of work did not mean that he wasn’t as tired as everyone else in the morning.  
After yawning a few times he decided to take a quick shower to wake him up. Perhaps he also wanted to look nice for the customer. Well. As he never noticed him he shouldn’t be making such a fuss about it but Dan couldn’t help it. There was at least the possibility that the customer might look at him this day.  
Dan made his way to work and opened the café. He did not expect too many customers today. The sun was shining and it wasn’t too cold. A lot of people would surely be in a park rather than in a café when the weather was as good as this. Dan was right, it was pretty calm, at least to the point until a group of four girls came walking into the café.  
“So very fortunate that everything is open even on a Sunday.” A girl with brown-red-ish hair said and laughed.  
“True.” Another one agreed and they came walking over to Dan.  
“Moring.” Dan said and smiled warmly. The bunch of girls seemed really nice. They appeared pretty talkative which made Dan chuckle quietly. The girls ordered their drinks after having several laughing fits. Dan promised them to bring their drinks to their table. As he kind of really liked them he decided to put a biscuit for each onto a plate and give it to them as a present. He finished the drinks and walked over to the group of girls who were chatting… in another language. Dan had never been a genius at languages so it took him a moment to figure out that they were in fact speaking German. He chuckled quietly and cleared his throat before he placed down the tray.  
“There you go. Four cups of hot liquid and four delicious cookies for the enchanting visitors from Germany.” Dan said and smiled brightly.  
“How do you know we’re from Germany?” a girl asked and sounded astonished.  
“Melissa! He heard us speaking German.” The girl with the reddish hair said and laughed out loud.  
“Oh. True. Thanks anyways, Dan.” Melissa said after reading his nametag.   
“Thank you.” The other girls said in unison.   
“Would you like to sit down?” a blonde-haired girl asked friendly.  
“As there are no customers around, I think I may.” Dan said after looking around. He really liked the girls and he really liked speaking with someone about other countries.  
“So you’re from Germany?” Dan asked after sitting down.  
“Yep.”  
“Where about?” Dan asked carefully.  
“North.” The reddish-haired girl said.  
“Interesting.” Dan said ironically. “What are your names then?” he asked and smiled funnily.  
“My name is Tomke.” The same girl answered.  
“Would you mind if I called you To?” Dan asked and frowned.  
“Not at all. Not with an e in the end though, that’s not so nice. This is Victoria, Melissa and Judith.” To said and pointed at the blonde girl and her other friends.  
“No offence but your names are easier.” Dan said and laughed. To laughed as well and poked her tongue out to Dan.  
“So, To, without an e at the end. What are you doing in London at this time of the year?” Dan asked. He would have asked the other ones as well but they were speaking about something else in German.  
“Admiring the Christmassy spirit!” To said poetically and took a sip of her drink.   
“You could have come earlier for doing so. The peasants put on the Christmas light in July!” Dan said and To laughed.  
“I know right? It’s so stupid. You are supposed to be looking forward to Christmas in December but not in July, as you said.”   
“Do you actually get me?” he asked surprised.  
“I do.” To said and smiled sympathetically.  
“Tell me. What is German Christmas like?” Dan asked curiously.  
“Well in some ways it’s even worse than the British one. I mean people start buying advent calendars far too early in the year. It should be forbidden. But in general and in the small village I’m from in particular German Christmas is very nice. Did you know that we even have a special celebration before Christmas day?” To asked and her eyes were sparkling. She obviously loved Christmas just as much as Dan did.  
“I did not know. When does it take place and what is it about?” Dan asked.  
“It takes place today.”  
“On the sixth of December?” Dan asked.  
“Yep. The Dutch people even exchange their presents today. We in Germany we simply receive smaller presents. They usually come inside a boot, which the small children put in front of the door on the evening of the fifth of December. There is a legend saying that a man called Saint Nikolaus gives children presents.” To explained.  
“So you get presents twice each December?” Dan asked.   
“Yep.” To answered satisfied.  
“That’s so mean!” Dan said and pouted.   
“It is isn’t it?” To asked and laughed mockingly. “There you go, I have several you may keep it as a present from your German friend To.” To said and handed him a small Father Christmas made out of chocolate.  
“Thank you so much!” Dan said honestly moved.  
“You’re welcome.” To said and shrugged.  
Afterwards they talked with the rest of the group. They talked about other German traditions and even tried to teach Dan to speak some German. He failed but only slightly. All the girls were really funny. As funny that Dan had to laugh a lot and did not even notice the customer who sat down at his usual place next to the window. As he did see the black haired goodness sitting in his chair smiling slightly Dan suddenly found it very hard to concentrate on anything else. He did not even notice To trying to speak to him several times. Only as To poked him to tell him that Margret wanted something from him Dan broke down the frozen state he had been in. Dan excused himself from the girls and walked over to Margret who handed him a wrapped present without any words.  
“What’s this?” Dan asked.  
“Josie said you should open it now but that she would only be there tomorrow.” Margret said and shrugged.  
“Josie had been here?” Dan asked astonished and looked around.   
“Yes but she is already gone. She didn’t want to interfere with the nice conversation you seemed to have.” Margret said and she winked at me.  
“Sorry about that.” Dan said quickly.  
“No problem. Would you do me a favour and wash up the dishes now?” Margret asked.  
“Sure thing!” Dan said. First of all he opened the present and was presented with a fragile angle made out of glass. It looked very nice indeed. Dan already knew where he would be hanging the angle in his flat. He smiled to himself and started working.  
Even though he was sad that he couldn’t speak with To and the other girls like this he was still kind of glad Margret had ordered him to do this as it would distract him enough not to stare at the customer constantly. After he had finished with his task he saw that the girls were preparing to leave.  
“Will you come back once?” Dan asked and walked over to the girls.  
“Definitely. My sister as to see this. She would be enchanted.” To said and smiled cheekily.  
“Good. Have fun and a nice Saint Nikolaus day to each one of you and your families.” Dan said and bowed his head.  
“Thanks.” The girls sang and giggled. Dan himself shook his head and continued working after they had left. He honestly tried his best not to be distracted too much by the handsome customer. 

 

PHIL’S POV

Phil woke up happy. He sniffed the air and there was still a faint smell of the marshmallow candle he burnt yesterday evening. He got out of his bed and made himself some Christmassy cereal. Well. He called it Christmassy. In reality it was simply the one with cinnamon in it.  
Phil spent a very agreeable morning in his flat, once again lighting all the candles.  
When he started to get hungry he decided to go and eat a sandwich before returning to the café.  
Even though he really liked the way his decorations turned out to be there was no better place than the café where he wanted to spend his Sunday afternoon.  
After Phil had had lunch he walked into the café. By now it did not take him a couple of minutes to be fully in love with the atmosphere and as quickly as that happened, a huge smile always appeared on his face.  
He ordered his usual drink and added a slice of chocolate cake. It was delicious. After a while, which may sound weird, Phil noticed that he wasn’t alone in the café. There was a group of girls chatting with a brown haired guy. They obviously tried to teach him some German. Phil had to smile as he remembered that the only thing he was ever able to say fluently was “Mein Name ist Phil!” and yet again for a long time of his life he hadn’t even been sure if that sentence was French or German. Phil continues listening to the girls speaking English with nearly no accent until they start speaking German again. He would never be able to understand what they are saying anyways. Instead he continues to look out of the window or through the room. He still couldn’t believe how cosy it looked.  
After spending, what felt like hours and yet not enough time in the café he decided to go back home. He cooked himself some pasta for dinner and ate it while watching one of the former Doctor Who Christmas specials. How could be an evening like this improved any further?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are, my sister made a cheeky little appearance in here: Tomke. :) As I told you this is written for her, so no suprise there. I hope you enoyed! Have a nice Tuesday and to all the Dutch people: Happy "Christmas"!


	7. December 7th

DAN’S POV

As Dan woke up on Monday he wasn’t too happy. Even though he had worked the whole weekend and it did not even feel like Monday, at least not more than any other day of the week did, he was kind of grumpy. Being grumpy on a Monday morning must be something every human suffered under. Dan still got up relatively quickly and took a shower. This made him awake. And he remembered that he hadn’t yet put up the angle Josie had given him the day before. After getting dressed he quickly unwrapped the angle and hung it into his bedroom window. He smiled and quickly got ready for work.   
After he opened the café all he had to do was wait a couple of minutes before a dark-haired lady hurried into the room. “Josie!” Dan called happily. Josie was the most loyal customer he had ever had. Normally she would be there at least three times a week. Only if she was be on one of her countless vacation trips around Europe and the whole world she would not turn up three times a week.   
“Dan! I missed you!” Josie called and smiled warmly.  
“So did I! You sit down and I quickly make us some tea. Would you like a slice of cake?” Dan asked.  
“You know I have a sweet tooth.”  
“Several even.” Dan muttered and hurried to finish the tea. He put some cake onto a plate and walked over to Josie.   
“Oh, this is not one of yours is it?” Josie asked looking at the cake.  
“No I could never make something nearly as pretty as this!” Dan said and laughed.  
“That’s not what I wanted to say. I love your cakes. They taste far more special than this industrial ones do. Promise me you’ll bake something today.” Josie said inquisitive.   
“I promise I will.” Dan said and rolled his eyes. To be fair he did not even have to promise it as he was usually making a cake each day so that the customers could experience something hand made as well.  
“Thank you. I’ll pass by later today and eat a slice.”  
“Thank you.” Dan said and poured tea into Josie’s cup. “Now tell me what you have been up to!” Dan said excitedly.  
“I have been to Denmark!” Josie answered excitedly. “That’s also where I got the angle from.”   
“Thank you so much for that. You don’t have to give me anything!” Dan said quickly.  
“But I want to! Besides yesterday was a celebration day in the Netherlands where they exchange presents so I thought it only right to give my favourite waiter a present!”  
“You’re cute.” Dan said and smiled thankfully. “I heard about that celebration day. The girls in the café told me yesterday.”  
“Uh, the girls?” Josie asked and winked.  
“No. Don’t even go there!” Dan said and shook his head. While he said that he somehow had to think about the handsome customer. If there would be anyone he would be interested in it would be the customer… But let’s not go there.  
“What else have you been doing?” Dan asked Josie to distract her and himself from the thoughts they were having.   
Dan and Josie talk for a very long time. He only noticed Margret coming in because she shouted a joyous “Morning Josie!” towards them. Apart from that Dan did not notice any customer. As Josie decided it was time to leave he picked up the plates and mugs and turned around. The customer was standing in front of Dan. The later was very surprised that he even let fall down everything he was holding.  
Josie chuckled and excused herself. Dan blushed and smiled shyly up to the customer. To Dan’s astonishment the customer returned the smile! Dan’s smile grew wider but the customer already turned around again.  
Dan quietly walked his walk of shame to the counter to get a broom. Margret only laughed at his apologizing face and urged him to get out of her office.  
Dan took a deep breath before walking back into the café armed with a broom. The customer looked at him and smiled slightly. Dan returned the smile and quickly cleaned up the mess he made. It was quite obvious that Dan had to get noticed by the customer on a day like this. Dan sighed deeply and tried to continue his work as good as possible. To be fair he only crashed one other cup and that was because Margret tickled him when he had been deep in thoughts.

 

PHIL’S POV

It was a wonder that since Phil knew that he would spend an agreeable lunchbreak later the day he had much less problems at work. He was able to work properly which did not only surprise him but the rest of the team as well. The only problem was that as Phil was leaving towards the café he noticed sadly that he would have to start working afterwards. At least he would be able to go home at the end of the day. It was always important to stay positive.  
Phil walked into the café and ordered his drink. As he walked towards his place he stopped and saw a brown-haired boy. The one he saw yesterday with the girls. The boy turned around and suddenly dropped plates and mugs. Phil had to smile. He was usually the clumsiest person around, it was nice to see that he wasn’t the only one suffering under it. The brown-haired boy smiled shyly up to Phil and Phil couldn’t do anything but return the smile. The eyes of the man kneeling before him were the most amazing shade of brown Phil had ever seen. They looked incredibly warm. Phil had to use all the willpower he had to turn away from the man and sit down onto his place.  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man walking into a room behind the counter and returning with a broom. The man smiled gently to him and Phil returned the smile.  
How come he had never noticed the man before?   
For the rest of his lunchbreak Phil tried to read the nametag of the waiter but he didn’t manage to do so. He was quite unsatisfied when he left but he said to himself that he would have another chance the next day.  
Another chance to do what? He asked himself. Good question. All Phil knew that if he hadn’t noticed these amazing brown eyes and the gentle smile of the waiter which warmed his heart before, he would surely make most of it now.  
For the rest of the day Phil kept seeing brown eyes whenever he closed his eyes. Needless to say that his productivity decreased again…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have a great day and don't go around dropping mugs, they are expensive! :D <3


	8. December 8th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all doing fine! :D <3 Enjoy the chapter! :)

DAN’S POV

Did Dan dream it or did the customer actually notice him yesterday? Well, it definitely wasn’t a dream but being humiliated because he dropped several plates and mugs which brought the attention of the customer to him was most certainly not a dream either.  
Dan sighed and got out of his bed. His life wasn’t fair but to be realistic it never actually had been. Dan let out another sigh and checked his phone. How was it only Tuesday? Against Dan’s better judgement, he got out of the bed and dressed for work. No matter how sure he was that if he had ever had a chance with the customer he had most definitely ruined it now, Dan still paid close attention what he was putting on. Today he decided to put on a ridiculous laser-cat shirt. After all the customer should not be thinking that Dan paid close attention to what he was putting on.  
Dan sighed several times before he put on his coat, a scarf and walked towards the café. The atmosphere enchanted him immediately.  
Yesterday after the customer had left he had made a cake and Josie came by to eat a slice. She was very happy with how it turned out and said she couldn’t wait for another one of his creations. Dan decided it would be best not to tell her that it had been a recipe from a Delia Smith cook book. That would have surely ruined the image Josie had from him.  
When Dan had returned home he had made some cookies for the next day and quickly went to bed afterwards. He had still been kind of embarrassed by what had happened in the café earlier the day.  
Dan was determined that today there would not happen something like that again. Well he couldn’t be sure of it as there usually happened something when he really did not need it to happen but at least he could prevent some disasters with being determined, at least he hoped he could.  
He walked into the café and decided it did not smell enough like café when he was finished putting on all the candles. Before he would be able to bake a cake he would have to ask Margret to go and buy some goods. Luckily she agreed immediately and left Dan alone to serve the first customers. He had no problem at all only after Margret still wasn’t back after an hour. Luckily it turned out that Margret somehow forgot what she was meant to do and ended up doing nearly all the Christmas shopping for her family and friends. To Dan’s luck she still remembered to buy the ingredients.   
Dan happily started backing. While pouring eggs into the mass of flour and sugar he decided it was best if he forgot everything about the customer immediately. What made him think he could have any possible chance with someone obviously better than him in the first place? It was ridiculous and the sooner he’d let go of the weird illusion the better.  
Dan was nearly finished with the cake, in fact it was already in the oven he was only making the icing, he heard someone clearing his throat behind him. He spilled icing powder onto his jeans and spun around.  
“I’d like to order.” The good looking customer said. He sounded not amused at all. Before Dan could have said anything he turned around and sat down.  
Dan wanted to scream but instead he quickly got the cake out of the oven, finished the icing and made the customer his hot chocolate with lactose free milk and blended with flake. He quickly walked over the table and placed it down.  
“There you go. I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention.” Dan said quietly and left as quickly as possible. After waiting for a couple of minutes he finished the cake with the icing and cut it into pieces. He put one slice onto a plate and walked over to the customer. It felt weird to have heard the customer say something else than “A hot chocolate with lactose free milk and blended with flake, please.” But Dan had no chance to think about it for too long. He carefully placed down the cake in front of him, not wanting to scare him.  
“I thought you might want a slice of cake. It’s for free. It’s an apology. I hope you like it. I made it myself. And I should go now. I really hope you like it.” Dan ranted and quickly backed away.   
The customer was surprised and mumbled a “Thanks.”.  
Dan allowed himself a small smile and quickly served the next customer, not wanting anyone to be as unhappy with him as the good looking customer had been.

 

PHIL’S POV

Phil was really looking forward to having a nice lunchbreak in the café. Unfortunately the time before he would finally be able to have that lunchbreak was not nice at all. He worked as hard as he could, which was kind of hard as two chocolate brown eyes kept popping into his mind. Still Mr Herb did not seem to acknowledge him giving his best. The slightest error he made was rewarded with said Mr Herb shouting at him for being an inefficient boy. Even though Phil knew he hadn’t really been good at his work lately he still thought it was very unfair of Mr Herb to shout at him like that.  
Phil was very happy indeed when he was finally able to leave for his lunchbreak. He quickly walked to the café only to discover that there was no one eager to take his order. He impatiently cleared his throat and said: “I’d like to order”.  
The brown-haired boy turned around with a look on his face Phil could only describe as pure. He immediately felt sorry for what he had said but there was no going back now so he quickly turned around and walked to his seat.  
Phil tried his best to forget about the big eyes the waiter, whose name was still secret to Phil, had made. Phil was sorry. He wasn’t usually someone that lived out his anger on other people. He wished he could reverse his actions. Phil thought about he could say when the waiter suddenly stood in front of him with a steaming cup.   
“There you go. I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention.” The waiter, who wasn’t wearing his nametag, said and smiled shyly.  
Phil was overwhelmed and couldn’t say anything. How did the waiter know what he wanted to drink? It was a miracle but Phil was flattered nevertheless. He enjoyed his delicious hot chocolate and thought about Christmas. The beautiful café had really helped him arriving in Christmas-town. He couldn’t wait to feel all Christmassy with his family again. There was never anything better than fighting about random crap at Christmas day with your family. A fighting family who could laugh about it afterwards was better than a forced happy one.  
Phil took another sip of his hot chocolate as the waiter was suddenly standing in front of him again: “I thought you might want a slice of cake. It’s for free. It’s an apology. I hope you like it. I made it myself. And I should go now. I really hope you like it.”  
Phil was once again overwhelmed by the kindness of the waiter. Phil had just been rude to him and all the waiter could think of was apologizing. It was Phil who ought to apologize!   
Phil quickly mumbled a quiet “Thanks.” and couldn’t stop himself from eating the cake. Saying it was delicious would not actually say how good the cake was the waiter HIMSELF has made. It was beyond amazing. It was a fest for the tongue! For all senses to be precise! Not did it only taste heavenly it also looked amazing and smelled like Christmas in… a cake. It was a masterpiece.  
Phil really wanted to tell the waiter how good he thought his cake was but unfortunately he missed the time where he could have done that. First of all he stared at the waiter the whole time instead of talking and then his phone buzzed and said it was time for him to go back to work.   
He stood up and walked out of the café. Before closing the door he quietly mumbled a “Bye!” before hurrying off. For the rest of the day, the whole night, well until he reopened the doors to the café, Phil thought about the waiter’s eyes, his smile and his words. Phil simply wondered how it was possible that one person was as perfect as that.


	9. December 9th

DAN’S POV

As Dan woke up on Wednesday morning he still felt bad about how unlike a properly trained waiter he had been the day before. How could he not notice when there were customers coming into his café? If it was up to him he would surely kick himself out. Luckily Margret was not of the same opinion as him. She simply shook his head and continued munching the cake Dan had baked.  
On Wednesday morning Dan had to run to the post office before he could go to the café because it would be his mum’s birthday the next day. It was his duty to at least write a card to her. He happily did and sent it.  
Afterwards he walked to the café and waited three uneventful hours before his customer finally appeared in the door. Okay, that was not really fair. The hours were not exactly uneventful. Dan baked another cake and Josie came around to say hello. There were some things happening but they felt uneventful for Dan because he couldn’t wait for his customer to arrive.  
As he did Dan had to take a deep breath and concentrate on not dropping the mug he was holding. He smiled insecurely to the customer. He was determined to behave like a real waiter. The day before it hadn’t helped anything that he had been determined but Dan was not one to give up so easily.  
The customer walked over to the counter and smiled slightly. Dan returned the smile and asked: “What can I bring you?” At the same time the customer said: “Good morning.”   
Dan blushed and they both started laughing. It was very nice that the customer seemed to be in a better mood than he had been the day before.   
“The usual?” Dan asked carefully.  
“Yes, please.” The customer answered and smiled even brighter. Dan blushed once more and quickly turned around to prepare the customer’s hot chocolate. When he had finished he saw that a whole group of what looked like tourists were coming into the café. Dan’s plan of talking to the customer, which did not only look amazing but had a very enchanting voice, was foiled.  
He delivered the hot chocolate and walked back to the counter to serve the thirsty tourists. They were all very friendly so Dan couldn’t blame them on keeping him from talking to his customer.   
Unfortunately after Dan had served the group of tourists other people came in. That was good for the café in general but it meant that after Dan had served several people his customer was already putting on his coat while walking out of the door. Dan was slightly sad and for once today he was happy that there were customers that kept him from thinking about his customer.

 

PHIL’S POV

When Phil woke up he was determined to speak to the friendly waiter. As he let his thoughts run through his head a few times he noticed how weird they were. Why would anyone think something like that first thing in the morning?  
Phil did not think about the waiter as someone he could fall for, did he? No that was just weird. He knew nothing of the boy. He simply liked the way he made him hot chocolate, how he smiled and how his body looked. Okay, cross out that last one, it would not be too helpful with trying to persuade someone that Phil was in fact not falling for a brown-haired waiter.  
Phil quickly got ready and left for work. He was only eager to get over the first part of his work because that would mean he already finished half of the things he had to do on the day. Okay, perhaps he was also really looking forward to visiting the café again.  
Before anyone could have stopped him, Phil walked out of the bank towards the café. He took a deep breath and exhaled quickly again. Why was he behaving this weirdly? Taking a deep breath and exhaling quickly was not something your lungs could easily take, Phil was wiser only after doing so. He coughed and had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself. He shook his head and smiled at his ridiculous behaviour.   
He walked into the café and prepared himself mentally to say: “Good morning.” Just as he said the two words the waiter asked him what he could bring him. Phil blushed and laughed embarrassedly.  
“The usual?” the waiter asked gently.  
“Yes, please.” Phil breathed and quickly turned around. Why was his body behaving this weirdly around the waiter all of the sudden? It was quite exhausting actually.  
Phil tried his best not to focus on what his body was doing but that was pretty hard as his heart decided to beat faster every time he heard the waiter’s laugh. It sounded very playful and simply cute. Phil found himself smiling whenever he heard the laugh which was ridiculous as he didn’t even know what the waiter was laughing about.  
For the whole amount of time his lunchbreak lasted it was very full in the café one could nearly say crowded. Phil was not sure if he should be glad because of that. At least it spared him to embarrass himself in front of the waiter. That was nice but then again he really wanted to hear him speak again. The voice of the waiter sounded very nice. It was warm and friendly and reminded Phil in an odd way of honey.   
Phil shook his head and jumped up as he saw it was about time he went back to work. The thoughts he just had only proved him right, it would be best if he left tight now.  
Sadly when Phil arrived at work he noticed that he started to miss the waiter’s company already. Once again that was slightly worrying as the waiter hadn’t yet ever really been proper company to Phil in any way but after all he had always been there when Phil had been sitting in the café.   
For the rest of the day and the few hours he laid awake in his bed, Phil tried his best to tell himself that he missed the atmosphere of the café and not the cute waiter who smiled at anyone from behind the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! :) Have a great weekend! <3 See you tomorrow!


	10. December 10th

DAN’S POV

Once again the alarm clock woke Dan earlier than he was used to. Normally he would be outraged but today he simply grabbed the phone and dialled his mother’s number. The reason for setting the alarm earlier than usual was his mother’s birthday. Dan had to wait a few moments before his mum picked up the phone. “Dan?” she asked happily.  
“Yes. I know what you’re thinking, why is my son calling me this earlier but let me tell you: I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world! You are the best mum in the whole world!” Dan said and smiled.  
“Are you reading that out loud?” his mum asked sceptically.  
“Mum! No! I love you. I’m just a little tired. That’s all!” Dan said offended.  
“I believe you! Why are you tired?” his mum asked concerned. That was just what she was always doing. Even if it was her birthday she only ever worried about the life of others.  
“When ain’t I tired?” Dan asked and tried to brush it off with a laugh.  
“Are you working too much lately?” his mum asked.  
“No. Mum. Please. Let’s not have this conversation again. I love my job and making a cake is not as hard as I thought it would be. Honestly I’m fine. I even get the weekend off. I’m not working too much. I like what I’m doing!”  
“You get the weekend off?”   
“Yep.”  
“May I ask Adrian if he wants to visit you?” his mum asked him.  
“Go ahead!” Dan said and smiled. It would be really nice to have his brother’s company once again. He had never really visited him in London yet. At least not alone and not for a whole weekend.   
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”  
“Mum! It’s your birthday. Let dad spoil you or something. I’m going to bake a cake for you. Well it’s only symbolically for you but Josie and I will have a piece on your health!”   
“Thanks. I’m very honoured to be on your list on people that it’s worth making a cake for.” His mum said.  
“Are you being sarcastic there? It does not suit you at all!” Dan said and laughed.  
“I love you too.” His mum said.  
“Speak to you later. The doorbell rang. I bet it’s the neighbours. They can’t pass an opportunity for free cake. Never let them near your café, do you get me?”   
“Have fun!” Dan managed to say before the line went dead. Dan shook his head and got up. He quickly changed and left for the café. If he really wanted to make a fancy cake for his mother he would have to get started earlier. Dan rushed through a supermarket before opening the café. If his mum wanted to feel special he would give her all the reason to. The cake, made out of various different layers took quite long to make. Dan was very careful with each step so that Margret had to do most of the work. “That looks amazing, Dan.” She said various times.  
“Thanks.” Dan always mumbled before carefully working on. As he finished his masterpiece he was immediately sad. His piece of work would soon be destroyed by hungry customers. Dan shrugged it off and got out his phone to take a picture.  
“May I try a slice?” Margret asked curiously.   
“You may, but I think we have to wait for Josie. Together we can celebrate my mum’s birthday. What about that?”   
“You’re the boss.” Margret said and winked at him.   
Luckily Dan and Margret did not have to wait too long until Josie came running into the café. Dan really admired her for being this fit even at her age. He always bet that all he would be doing when he turned that old was lying on a sofa aimlessly starring at a wall.  
Josie was different. She smiled brightly and ordered a tea before saying festively: “Today we are gathered to celebrate the birthday of one of the best mums in the universe. Her beautiful legacy is standing right in front of us in form of the future number one baking chef in the world’s history.” Dan started laughing and carefully cut the cake.  
“That looks amazing!” Josie shouted excitedly without her festive voice.  
The three of them hungrily ate the cake, which really was delicious. Afterwards Margret and Josie had to leave again so Dan was all alone once again. He didn’t really mind. Like that he could easily text his brother. Even though he should have been at school he kept answering Dan’s texts. But who was Dan to tell him off for doing so. He had probably been even worse when he had still been at school. Dan shook his head whenever Adrian answered but continued writing nevertheless. Unfortunately Dan had to stop texting because lunch started and a lot of customers came into the café. Each time someone sat down on the chair where his customer usually sat Dan wished he would not be coming so that he could be spared to have to sit somewhere else.  
It turned out that Dan’s wishes where not respected. Just as an old couple sat down at the table the customer walked into the café. Dan tried his best to not appear as if he had waited for him to arrive but yet again he also did not want to seem arrogant. In the end he stared at the customer which was most likely to be the dumbest thing he could have done. The customer smiled and Dan smiled back brightly.

 

PHIL’S POV

Phil blushed when he woke up. He had not had a saucy dream but he was slightly embarrassed that he was already looking forward to his lunchbreak. Perhaps the waiter had had a bigger impact on his thoughts that he has first wanted to admit. Phil blushed even deeper when he heard the lovely voice of the waiter in his head. He quickly shook his head and got dressed. If he had to work really hard to forget these thoughts, Phil would. Phil kept his promise and work as hard as he could during the morning. Still that did not stop him from jumping up in excitement when his colleges started to leave for their lunchbreak. Phil quickly put on his coat and raced out of the bank. He arrived at the café and had to smile immediately when he saw the waiter. His smile grew even wider when he saw that the waiter was smiling back at him. That was probably part of his job but Phil was really happy he finally noticed the waiter doing so.   
Phil walked up the few steps to the counter and went to order his usual drink. The waiter however did not wait for Phil to finish. After Phil had mumbled a “Hello.” he wanted to go over to ordering his drink but the waiter had already started pouring lactose free milk into a mug to beat it up.   
“Would you like to try some cake?” the waiter shyly asked.  
“I’d love to. The one you made last time was amazing. Did you have much to do today?” Phil asked.  
“Why?” the waiter asked confused.   
“Because there is no cake from you.” Phil explained and smiled stupidly.  
“Oh, there is a cake from me. Right here.” The waiter said and pointed over to a masterpiece of a cake.  
“Did you really make that one yourself?” Phil asked astonished.  
“I did. I made it for my mum’s birthday. It’s only symbolical but she was happy to receive a picture nevertheless. Do you want to stay here? At the counter I mean. There are people sitting at your table.” The waiter said casually and finished Phil’s drink. Phil tried his best to not seem too obvious that he was enormously happy that the waiter seemed to have remembered where he was usually sitting.  
“I would like to stay here. For as long as my place is still occupied.” Phil said. After all he did not want to appear as eager as he was in reality. That would only freak out the cute waiter. No. Phil did not just think the waiter was cute, did he? Okay it was not much of a surprise considering all the things he had been thinking about him but still.   
“There you go. A slice of cake.” The waiter said, smiled warmly and Phil blushed deeply. He did not recognize himself. He had never been the easy blushing type, but apparently that Fall out Boy song was wrong. Not only seasons changed, people did too. Wherever that thought just came from.   
Unfortunately Phil could not spend as much time with Dan as he wanted to. The next customers to leave were the people sitting at his table. To keep his word he smiled apologetically and sat down. The only good thing about this was that Phil was now able to look at the waiter without him noticing. It would have been very bad if he would have noticed. Phil did not want anyone to notice. His interest in the waiter had to be kept secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great Saturday, you peeps! Leave comments and kudos to improve mine! ;) <3


	11. December 11th

DAN’S POV

The second Dan opened his eyes he knew that he should not have watched that documentary about the end of the world last night. His mood was terrible and he could not do anything against it. Should he even be doing something against it? Would there be any solution? Was his life worth anything outside the small circle around himself? Probably not.  
Dan sighed and got up even if the only thing he really wanted to do was lie face down on his carpet. Why was he even bothering to go to work? No one needed him there. Okay, luckily that was not true. If it would have been true there would have been a good chance for Dan actually spending his day face down on a carpet in his bedroom. With Da actually being needed, he got ready slowly. After all there really was no reason he should be hurrying. There was no one waiting for him and he did not have to bake a cake like he had for his mother yesterday.  
Before Dan had watched the documentary, which by only thinking about it still sent shivers down his spine, he had been endlessly texting with his brother. They had agreed what they wanted to do this weekend. As Dan remembered that Adrian would already be coming the next day his mood lightened and he walked to work almost enthusiastically.  
Dan was able to stay optimistic for most of the time except for when he heard an ambulance. He always could not decide if it was a good sign for maybe a baby being born or someone dying. He really wished he could say it was a baby every time but the more often he heard that shrieking sound of the ambulance he knew that at least somewhere on the earth someone just died.   
Margret occasionally tried to talk to Dan but after he had said the two words she stopped and smiled apologetically. Over the years Dan had already had several “existential crisis’” which was not nice but it felt good that Margret at least understood him. She could not help but she did not try to press the thoughts out of Dan, which was nice.  
Dan sighed and really wanted his day to brighten up a bit. Just as he had this thought he heard the doorbell and saw his customer walking inside. Dan smiled sadly. After all it was still hurtfully obvious that he would never have a chance with him.

 

PHIL’S POV

Even though once again Phil woke up smiling because he was looking forward to his lunchbreak he refused to accept what that had to mean for him. He simply got dressed and tried to sing over the thoughts he kept having. Several people looked funnily at him as he passed them in the streets but Phil did not care. After all he was only doing it for the safety of the whole world.  
After having worked more or less productive Phil left five minutes early for his lunchbreak. He simply couldn’t wait to be enchanted by the café’s atmosphere once again. That he was slowly but surely really enjoying the presence of the waiter was a thought Phil determinedly pushed out of his brain.  
He opened the door and was greeted with the lovely sound of the three small bells ringing above his head. He looked over to the counter and immediately found what he had been looking for. The kindest brown eyes on the whole planet. Phil smiled but saw horrified that the waiter did not seem to be happy at all.  
Phil carefully walked over after getting out of his jacket. As he reached the counter he was already presented with a steaming cup of his drink. “Thank you very much.” Phil said and smiled brightly. All he got in return was a sad smile. Phil took a sip of his drink and took a deep breath before asking: “How are you?” He tried his best to sound random. The waiter looked up and faked a smile. Phil saw through it but decided not to say anything.  
“I’m fine. If you’re interested. Work is pretty dull but I always keep myself with thinking about you…r café.” Phil said and quickly took a large gulp of the hot liquid. Needless to say that he properly burnt his tongue with doing so.  
The waiter, who was still not wearing a name tag simply smiled and took a deep breath. “I’m happy to hear that you’re fine.” His voice sounded huskily. Apparently he hadn’t yet spoken that much today. Phil took another sip of his drink. The waiter’s voice had caused goose bumps to appear on his whole body.  
“I for one am not feeling too well.” The waiter confessed and distracted himself with a cookie.  
“Why?” Phil asked concerned. He had not noticed that he had started to care for that (nearly complete) stranger.  
“Existential crisis.” The waiter mumbled.  
“Gesundheit.” Phil said. He wanted to lighten up the atmosphere a bit, and he seemed to succeed. The waiter chuckled. Phil smiled brightly as well but was very angry at the same time. He really wanted to know what the waiter was called.  
“I’m just doubting my life as any impact on anyone apart from myself.” The waiter said and stared into Phil’s eyes.  
“Don’t say that! I think you do have a large impact on the world.” Phil said. The waiter raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly. Instead of blurring out that Phil thought that only with one of his cute smile he was able to lighten up the day or perhaps even the life for someone else, Phil said: “I mean come on. I have never met anyone who was able to make me a drink nearly as good as this. What’s your secret?” Phil asked mysteriously. He really did not want to talk about the other topic for too long as he would surely simply say something he’d regret later.  
“Pure talent.” The waiter whispered and laughed quietly. Phil nodded thoughtfully as if he had actually just been told a huge secret.  
“Only kidding.” The waiter said and playfully hit Phil’s arm. Phil laughed and they smiled at each other. If Phil wouldn’t lose himself in the eyes of the waiter each time he looked into them he would have probably been embarrassed of behaving like he was. Phil continued asking random questions simply to keep the waiter entertained. He did not even notice how quickly time passed. Only as a very unfriendly customer barked at the waiter, Phil noticed that he had to go back to work. The waiter turned around and smiled sadly. Phil returned the smile and hated himself for leaving behind his back.   
As Phil sat down in front of his computer again he noticed horrified that he felt like he left a part from him in the café. The waiter had affected him much more than he said he had. Perhaps it was only for a certain amount of time but not even Phil believed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are... I know it's technically no longer "afternoon" right now but I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same! Have a good week! :) <3


	12. December 12th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Perhaps this is a way to brighten up your Monday! <3 See you tomorrow! :)

DAN’S POV

Dan really wanted to thank his customer for brightening up his day but he couldn’t. That was mainly because Dan would not be returning to the café until Monday and partly because the customer simply disappeared yesterday after he had dealt with an unfriendly customer. Sometimes Dan thought that he only imagined the customer actually being there. He did not even have the slightest proof that he existed. After all he did not even know the stranger’s name. Dan sighed but decided not to drown in thoughts about existence. He quickly changed into some cosy clothes and left for the train station. If he wanted to spend some agreeable time with his younger brother he had to get going right now.   
Adrian came running towards Dan the second the train stopped. Dan hugged him tightly and scuffled his hair. “Oi!” Adrian shouted and returned the favour. They both laughed and made their way back to Dan’s apartment. First of all they did not do anything. They hardly ever did when they were together. They simply enjoyed each other’s presence. After an hour or two Dan proposed to either play some video games or go into town. They agreed on playing some games before watching a movie in the cinema.   
“But let’s not watch something stupid, okay?” Adrian asked.   
“As if you would want to watch anything else but stupid.” Dan said and bought tickets for a Christmas film for small children.  
“Dan!” Adrian whined.  
“Oh come on. No one will know who you are. Get a grip! Besides I bet we’re going to have fun.”  
“Even if we are the oldest ones around?” Adrian asked doubtfully.  
“Yes, even then.” Dan said and pulled him into the cinema.  
The film turned out to be extremely stupid but very funny at the same time. Dan and Adrian laughed the whole way through, which caused several parents to shush them. Not that they minded at all.  
After watching the film in the cinema, Adrian and Dan walked home and ordered pizza. As Dan smelled the deliciousness being delivered right onto his lap, he noticed that it had been a long time since he had eaten pizza or something properly salty in general. His eating order was a mess. But who would complain if they had to eat cake every day? Oh, Dan knew some people that complained, but they were his dentists and therefore did not count. Dan and Adrian continued to simply sit on the couch browse through the internet and listen to Christmas music. It was very agreeable and just how a Saturday evening should look like in December. 

 

PHIL’S POV

Even though it was Saturday, Phil knew that he had to go to the café today. How could he miss an opportunity to talk to the waiter again? However, even though he really wanted to see the waiter again he simply couldn’t just go there first thing in the morning. The waiter would only think that it was because of him. And even though he might be right if he suspected that, Phil really did not want to give anyone the opportunity to do so.   
Instead of going there after changing into his former university hoodie, Phil made himself a bowl of cereal and sat down onto his couch, television at full sound and laptop right next to him. Phil was one of the people that simply couldn’t concentrate if they knew they were all alone. He needed the sound of the television to distract him from being all alone in the apartment. Well to be fair he wasn’t exactly working but he didn’t want to be all alone or to feel all alone. This kind of wish usually happened whenever he met someone that triggered the wish of having someone. Not that Phil was thinking about the waiter or something he was just thinking about being lonely in general.  
After Phil had “worked” for a couple of hours and he could no longer ignore the rumbling of his tummy he decided it was definitely time to go to the café. He eagerly jumped up and nearly dropped his computer because he tossed it off from his lap. “Oh boy.” Phil said and quickly tried to put on his shoes. Unfortunately he messed up his two feet and fell over. He slid down at the wall and tried a few deep breaths. Why was he behaving this weirdly? It could not just be because of that one silly waiter, could it? Okay, to be fair, the waiter was not really stupid. More like not stupid at all. How could a man be as nice and stupid at the same time? That made no sense whatsoever.  
Phil slowly got up once again and calmly put on his shoes. There was no need for him be a mess at home. He would surely make an idiot of himself later today so why should he behave this weirdly when no one was around. To be fair these kinds of thoughts did not really brighten up Phil’s mood but it was a miserable attempt to appear slightly braver than he was. Phil walked out of his apartment and breathed in the “fresh” London air. It was chilly but quite nice especially when Phil tried to empty his head a bit.  
The walk to the café took Phil less long than he actually needed it to be. He took one last deep breath and walked into the café. He did not spot the waiter immediately. That was why he tried his best to appear very sophisticated. Unfortunately he missed the small step one had to make to fully get into the small main room. He stumbled into the café and blushed deeply. He looked up and saw that luckily no one saw him doing so. He smiled shyly and walked towards the counter. The old lady the waiter always talked to stood there and smiled. Her smile was stressed but it was genuine nevertheless.  
Phil ordered his drink and stood there for a few seconds before he turned around. He tried to prepare himself for seeing the waiter but as he turned around there was literally no one to be seen. Well there were several customers but he did not spot any waiters. Phil’s heart missed a beat and he felt kind of numb. He sat down at his usual table and took a deep breath and a sip of his drink. Somehow it did not taste as good as it used to. Phil shook his head. He was surely just imagining this. He took a deep breath and happily noticed that the café still smelt like Christmas. He smiled and leaned back in his seat. He was ready to fully enjoy the café’s atmosphere.   
Unfortunately Phil could not concentrate on anything in the café. Usually he was really good at concentrating in the café but that was mainly because he had to concentrate on not staring at the waiter the whole time. Now he did not know what to do. That was why he left as soon as he had finished his drink.  
Back at home he simply sat down on his bed and watched various crap on the television.  
At the end of the day he was not happy at all how it turned out. After all he made an idiot out of himself and he simply behaved ridiculously. He would have to improve on Sunday if he wanted to be able to look into the mirror again.


	13. December 13th

DAN’S POV

“Wake up Adrian!” Dan shouted. For several minutes now he had been lying awake next to Adrian, who was snoring peacefully. He wanted Adrian to wake up because he really wanted to go to… church. It was safe to say that not even Dan did recognize himself with behaving like this.   
“What’s up?” Adrian mumbled. He was not really a morning person.   
Dan impatiently shook Adrian’s shoulder. “Get up now.” Dan said and stole the blanket.  
“I would eventually if you would tell me what you want.” Adrian mumbled and rolled his eyes.  
“We have to go somewhere.” Dan said and blushed.  
“Could you be any less precise?” Adrian groaned and sat up.  
“Church.” Dan mumbled. Adrian raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He sighed deeply before getting up and putting on some clothes.  
“So you’re coming with me?” Dan asked astonished.  
“Of course I am. You would not behave this weirdly if it wasn’t important to you so I guess I should better come with you to give you some moral support. Even if I don’t know what you are on about. Besides church isn’t that bad after all.”   
“Thanks. I guess.” Dan said and smiled happily.  
He himself did not know why he felt the urge to get to church. After all he wasn’t bothering most of the year but something about the Christmassy season made him really want to go to church and attend a service. He could not understand himself in all detail but he simply ignored the doubtful voice in his head and tried his best to get Adrian to hurry up.  
Surprisingly Adrian and Dan made it to church on time. They were both surprised but sat down happily in one of the church’s benches. The service was really festive and lovely. Several old people sang the best they could so Adrian and Dan simply had to join in even though they knew they probably sounded horrible.  
When the service was over and the whole atmosphere fell apart Dan and Adrian noticed how weird it was for them to spend over an hour not laughing hysterically. If Dan was being honest that was one of the things he really enjoyed about going to church. One was immediately enchanted by the way everything was run and the pure kindness within these walls. If Dan thought about it, this was exactly like he had felt first entering the café. He was not exactly comparing the café to a church but he did compare the atmosphere they both had. It felt like one was secure within the walls something Dan needed quite a lot in his life.  
After buying themselves a hot drink Adrian and Dan walked through the Christmassy London and talked about various things. About how school was doing for Adrian and Dan finally got to talk about the café. He was incredibly proud that he didn’t mention the customer more than four times. Something which was, considering the fact that he constantly thought about him, very good.   
Dan and Adrian walked home to get Adrian’s things only to leave shortly afterwards to go to the train station. On the way there they ran into Josie. Dan was really surprised. He had never seen any of his customers outside of the café. As weird as it was, it was really nice for Dan to have an evidence that Josie existed.   
“Dan!” Josie shouted excitedly.  
“Josie!” Dan shouted equally surprised. “It’s funny to see you here.”   
“So it is. Why are you not in your café?” she asked and smiled warmly.  
“I have the weekend off. Adrian, my brother, visited. Have you not been in the café?” Dan asked. It was highly unlikely of Josie to spend a weekend without eating cake at the café.   
“Oh, of course I have been. You know me.” She said and laughed. Dan laughed as well and secretly wondered if his customer had been there as well. After all he had been there the weekend before. Dan did not dare to ask anything so he kept quiet and gently ended the conversation as Adrian mouthed that the train would leave soon. In fact it was as soon that they had to run for it.   
As they arrived on the right platform Adrian practically had to jump onto the train for it not to leave without him. Dan waved to him through the window and Adrian grimaced. Dan laughed and waited for the train to leave the train station before he returned home and watched a Christmas film. For now the good old one “Love actually” would do before he had to go mad and watch the ones he watched when he was a child. There was nothing that could make him happier than watching a Christmas film from when he had still been a child. Okay, strictly speaking he still was a child, especially in the way he behaved but counting nearly 21 years one could say that Dan was (more of) an adult now.

 

PHIL’S POV

Phil was an optimist. He had always been. That was also why he decided to go to the café again on Sunday, even if he had been let down by the waiter the day before. Still, Phil thought that he might have probably arrived just as the waiter had had his lunchbreak. Well. That was at least the explanation Phil liked best. He could not stand the waiter to have lost his job or perhaps even worse the waiter having caught seriously ill. Phil shook his head and tried to forget his thoughts. There was no point of starting pessimistic into a day that might turn out really nice.  
Just like he did the day before, Phil took his time getting ready in the morning, browsing the internet and walking out of his apartment. As he arrived in front of the café he prayed to all the Gods he knew that his waiter would be there. As he realised what he had just done he quickly took back his prayers and walked into the café. As he scanned through the small room he saw that his waiter, no the waiter, the waiter of the café, not his… Well that the waiter was not there. Phil shortly thought if he should just leave again but he decided to drink a drink nevertheless. He ordered it, drank it as quick as he could and left again.   
The day did not turn out too great in the end. He didn’t miss the waiter but he was deeply frustrated with his situation in general. On Monday he would have to spend all day in the bank again. Probably with not even the lunchbreak distracting him successfully.  
Phil decided he would still go back to the café on the next day. If his waiter would still not be there he would ask the chef what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, the days match to those last year. I hope you are not too confused. :) The only good thing is that tomorrow won't be a Monday for us. :D <3


	14. December 14th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments! Enjoy today's chapter! :D <3

DAN’S POV

On Monday Dan was not happy at all and that was an entirely new feeling for him. He felt like doing nothing. All he really wanted to do was sleeping or spending time with his brother. The thought of having to spend dull hours in the café made him sigh deeply. He got up nevertheless as he could not possibly let down Margret. Dan put on a hoodie that made it easy for him to feel hidden, and walked out of his apartment. He was still not exactly happy when he reached the café. His feelings only changed when he took a deep breath inside the café. It smelled like Christmas! Like an enormously cosy version of Christmas! How could Dan not have missed this? That was when Dan realised he had in fact missed his café a lot.   
It was safe to say that his mood turned over completely so that he was happily dancing through the café lighting the candles while singing “All I want for Christmas is You” he knew he shouldn’t have watched “Love Actually” the night before but it was too late now and Dan was far too happy to make himself sing another song. He continued preparing the café until his chef arrived with baskets full of sweets.   
“Morning!” Dan shouted happily.  
“You are the only one I know who is excited on a Monday morning.” Margret sighed. She smiled weakly and placed the baskets onto the counter.  
“What are those for?” Dan asked and walked behind the counter to prepare their traditional first tea in the morning.  
“Unfortunately they are not all for us. A friend of mine is a teacher and she’ll come by later today with her class.”   
“Teenagers?” Dan asked horrified.  
“No. They are an elementary school. No need to be afraid.” Margret said and they both laughed. Afterwards they had their first tea together before the customers started arriving.  
“It’s gonna be a rough day.” Margret muttered quietly before greeting an old gentleman.  
Margret and Dan worked really hard together. Even though they always had small breaks between customers and a lot of people might not think working in a café is exhausting, it was safe to say that Margret and Dan had to munch a cookie every now and then to not fully lose faith in everything. Dan kept looking at the clock above the stereo. He just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t possibly on the toilet when his customer was coming. If he would be coming. Already the thought that he would shortly see him again made Dan both smile and sweat at the same time. He was not scared, he was simply really looking forward to it.   
Just as the clock showed it was half an hour left till lunch Margret came out of her office with a nametag for Dan. “Put this on, will you?”  
“Sure. Why?” Dan asked and carefully pinned his name to his chest.  
“The small children might want to address you directly.” Margret said with a shrug.  
“They are coming now?” Dan asked horrified.  
“Yep. Here they are.” Margret said as the door opened. Dan had no time to be scared that his customer might arrive just when he had to deal with small children.  
“Margret!” the teacher shouted happily. She looked really young which made Dan feel pretty old, pretty suddenly.  
“Tracy. It’s so nice of you to come over.”  
“It’s nice that we are welcomed here, isn’t it class?” she asked and her little minions all shouted “YES!” excitedly.  
“It’s a pleasure.” Margret said and smiled warmly.   
“It is.” Dan quietly added because he felt like one wanted him to say something as well.  
“Okay class. I want you to calmly sit down at a table. The chairs are meant to stay where they are so take care you each have a place in time. Scarlet there are already customers sitting at that one, could you please look for another chair to sit on?” Tracy asked and smiled gently. In total there were about sixteen children walking around the café. Still enough to make Dan slightly anxious. He did not fear they might break something he simply feared they might not like him.   
“Well done. Now everyone may choose from a hot chocolate, milk or tea.” Tracy said and sat down. The children started discussing eagerly. Dan smiled and got his notepad. Slowly he walked towards the first table and started taking orders.  
“What may I bring you, ladies?” Dan asked and smiled brightly. The four girls giggled and ordered their drinks with a voice, Dan guessed, was supposed to sound posh. After he finished his round Dan quickly started making the drinks. Margret could not help him because she distributed the cookies to the children. When Dan had finished with making the drinks and handing them to the children a small red-haired girl urged him to sit down next to her.  
“But there is no chair, miss.” Dan said and smiled warmly. It was very cute to be dragged away by a young girl.  
“You can call me Scarlet. You don’t need a chair. I’ll sit on your lap.” Scarlet said dominantly and after pressing Dan into a chair, jumped onto his lap. She leaned into him and happily started drinking her tea.  
Dan really enjoyed sitting in the small circle of girls who each had to tell him a very interesting fact about themselves. After Scarlet had finished her tea she turned around on the lap and started either stroking Dan’s hair or poking his dimple. Dan had to laugh whenever she did that which caused her to laugh loudly as well. Dan would have loved to stay like that but unfortunately he had to get up because he heard the doorbell go off.   
“What are you doing?” Scarlet asked.  
“I have to serve a customer but you might help me, if you want.” Dan proposed and Scarlet eagerly followed him. As Dan looked up properly his heart missed a beat. It was his customer that just entered the café.  
“Good morning.” He said as friendly as he could trying his best not to let his voice tremble. Dan did not know why but he was glad nevertheless, that Scarlet grabbed his hand.   
“Let’s serve the customer, Dan.” She said determined and locked eyes with Dan so that all he could do was smile. 

 

PHIL’S POV

The whole day Phil had waited to finally be back in the café. Before leaving his desk he had been anxious whether his waiter would be there again. Even though Phil tried to be as optimistic as possible he still kept himself from getting his hopes up too high.  
As the lunchbreak finally came he walked as slowly as he could. If he really would be left all alone again he would at least not be humiliated with leaving too early.  
After taking a deep breath Phil opened the door to the café and was greeted with several children’s laughs. He looked around and smiled as he saw children sitting at the tables, their legs in the air. He quietly walked over to the counter, pleased with simply observing the lively bundle of people in front of him. He stopped suddenly as he saw someone rising from his chair. It was actually him! It was his waiter. Phil took a deep breath and tried his best not to smile too brightly. The waiter looked up and saw Phil. Phil could not distinguish any reaction. The waiter walked towards him as a small red-haired girl walked next to him and grabbed his hand. The sight was adorable and Phil was sure that in an alternative universe he just melted properly into a liquid.  
“Good morning.” The waiter said and Phil realised how much he had missed his voice. Phil was not able to answer anything he simply smiled stupidly.  
The small girl was the first to raise her voice: “Let’s serve the customer, Dan.”  
Phil stopped breathing for a few seconds. He knew the name of the waiter. His name was Dan! Phil squinted his eyes and saw that Dan was even wearing his nametag again where he proved him right. The brown-haired, cute boy was called Dan. If Phil’s day would not improve from now on he at least had the knowledge that his waiter was called Dan.  
“Okay. Let’s do that.” Dan said and smiled. He looked up and smiled towards Phil who returned the smile immediately.  
“What do you do first?” the small girl asked and walked behind the counter with Dan. Dan mouthed a “Sorry!” towards Phil and picked the girl up so that she was able to look over the counter. “No problem.” Phil mouthed back.  
“Well. First of all you need to know what they want to drink.” Dan explained patiently.  
“What do you want to drink?” the red-haired girl addressed Phil.  
“A hot chocolate.” Phil said and winked at Dan. Dan winked back and Phil blushed.  
“Thank you.” The girl said and Dan and Phil started laughing.   
“If you don’t mind, I’ll prepare the hot chocolate and you can talk to the gentleman.” Dan said and sat the girl onto the counter. Phil tired his best not to concentrate on the fact that Dan had just called him a gentleman.  
“Hello, I’m Scarlet.” The girl said.  
“That’s a beautiful name, I’m Phil.” Phil said and shook Scarlet’s hand. Phil and Scarlet talked for a good amount of time until Dan had finished with Phil’s special drink and the teacher came to get Scarlet.  
“You have to say goodbye now, Scarlet.” The teacher said and smiled apologetically.  
“It was very nice to meet you, Dan and Phil.” Scarlet said and first hugged Dan and then ran around the counter to hug Phil. Afterwards she waved furiously and followed her class outside.   
Phil turned around to Dan and said: “Cute.” He was mainly referring to Scarlet but there was no denying that Dan had been very cute as well as he had dealt with her.   
“Do you want a cookie?” Dan asked after nodding in agreement.   
“I do.” Phil said and smiled.  
“What have you been doing today, Phil?” Dan said and smiled brightly. Phil blushed. It was nice to hear his name coming out of Dan’s mouth.   
“Not much. Working. It’s pretty dull.”  
“My work is great.” Dan said and smiled happily.  
“I bet it is.” Phil muttered and asked Dan a question in return. For the whole amount of his lunchbreak he stood in front of the counter talking to Dan. As he had to go he quickly mumbled: “See you tomorrow, Dan.” Before leaving for work and having to deal with the unbelievable cuteness Dan had radiated while being with the children. It was not fair that Dan was so cute.


	15. December 15th

DAN’S POV

Phil. All Dan could think of was Phil. And how much of a gentleman he had been while talking to Scarlet. Dan sighed deeply and jumped out of his bed. He would do everything in his power to make the lunchbreak come quicker than he feared it might. First of all his plan included to distract himself as much as possible, which sounded easy but was pretty hard in fact. When he reached the café he noticed horrified that there was not nearly as much to do as he had hoped there would be. Dan was so desperate for distraction that he started sorting out all the cupboards in the café. First of all he made a horrible mess, as you always do when you try to sort out fully stacked cupboards. Luckily the mess slowly faded the longer Dan had to distract himself. He was very strict with himself that he didn’t even allow himself to look at the clock, once.  
That was why he only noticed how late it was as it started to get dark outside. He had nearly worked all day. To be fair he was finished now but the only thing that bothered him was that Phil wasn’t there. He had promised he would be here this day, didn’t he? Well he had mumbled: “See you tomorrow, Dan.” But that was a promise, kind of, wasn’t it?  
Dan sighed and let himself fall down onto a chair. He definitely was proud of what he had achieved today but he was still cross with Phil for not showing up. Perhaps he had noticed the day before that Dan was far more stupid than he might have first he would be.  
Dan sighed a few more times before standing up again. At the moment there was no customer around so he could as well put the music as loud as he wanted. In theory he could have if there wouldn’t have been three new customers entering at that exact moment.  
Dan sighed and served them. In fact he was only really alone after his chef left him to clean the café. As Dan new that this was just the icing of a really bad day he decided not to contradict and show Margret what he had done today. He simply obeyed and started cleaning the café. Before doing so, he put on some Fall out Boy and locked the door. Even if it was made out of glass he did not want anyone to be able to simply walk in.

 

PHIL’S POV

It was official. Phil hated Mr Herb. Okay perhaps he did not feel actual hate towards him but he was very disappointed to say the least. Why did he made him stay for a meeting today? He had promised Dan to be coming today. Even if Phil wasn’t sure Dan actually wanted to see him again it was still important for him to never let down a promise he had made.  
Phil sighed and waited for his work to be over finally. Not did he not have his usual lunchbreak he had had in fact none. It was safe to say that Phil was grumpy. He needed his food, otherwise he would not be one with himself. Phil sighed and checked the clock. One hour to go.  
It was a miracle but somehow Phil survived the hour. He got up and walked out of the bank, as fast as he could. As he was about to walk home his tummy rumbled and Phil stopped. Would it be weird if he came to the café right now? Phil decided it wouldn’t and started walking with shaking legs. When he reached the café he was delighted to see that there was still light shining through the windows. As he walked closer he however saw, that there was a “closed” sign hanging on the door. He sighed and was about to turn around as he suddenly saw someone running through the café, holding a broom. After staring for a few moments, Phil noticed that this someone was no one else but Dan. He smiled and stepped closer to have a look on what Dan was doing. It looked like he was trying to dance. That looked really funny and even if Phil didn’t want to, he had to laugh.  
In a prevention of Dan not having a heart attack when he saw him standing there, Phil knocked on the door. Dan spun around and dropped the broom he was holding. He looked scared but as he recognized Phil a smile appeared on his face. Phil smiled back and Dan hurried towards him.  
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it. Mr Herb wanted me to attend a meeting. If it would have been up to me I would have come here instead!” Phil blurred out the second Dan opened the door.  
“No problem at all. I’m happy that you are here now.” Dan said and gestured Phil to come in. Phil blushed and stepped through the door. He got out of his jacket and followed Dan to the counter.  
“Would you like a Phot chocolate?” Dan asked and smiled cheekily.  
“I’m sorry?” Phil asked.  
“Oh. Well. It’s a pun on hot chocolate and Phil. It’s terrible, I know. Do you want your usual drink?” Dan asked and laughed embarrassedly.  
“I would like a Phot chocolate, yes.” Phil said and laughed. He watched Dan closely as he prepared two cups instead of one. Phil smiled and let his eyes wander over Dan’s body. To say that he looked handsome would be playing down his physical features. Yet again Phil was too embarrassed to think of Dan as handsome or even fit, even if that would have been the truth.  
“Do you like what you see?” Dan asked and turned around. Phil’s eyes widened but then he saw that Dan was referring to the Phot chocolate and not to his own body. All Phil could do was nod.  
“Shall we sit down then?” Dan asked. Phil nodded once more and led the way over to the table he was usually sitting at. He would probably destroy its peace when he would sit with Dan at it now as it would mean that he could never sit here without thinking about Dan again.   
“How have you been today?” Phil asked after taking a sip of the Phot chocolate.  
“Apart from the fact that you nearly let me down?” Dan asked and laughed.  
“I’m honestly sorry.” Phil said and smiled sadly.  
“I believe you!” Dan said and laughed again. His dimple show on his cheek and once again Phil felt like melting right on the spot. They both sipped their drinks and stayed quiet.  
“I noticed that I know nothing about you apart from your name and that you really like to drink Phot chocolate oh and judging by what you are wearing you might be a banker or something but apart from that I know nothing.” Dan said and looked thoughtful.  
“Would you like to know more then?” Phil asked with a cheeky grin.  
“I would, yes.” Dan said and blushed. Phil blushed as well and they both concentrated on their cups again.   
“Well, I am a banker, you guessed right. And I don’t only like Phot chocolate I also really like cereal at any time of the day.” Phil said shyly and blushed again.  
“I…” Dan started but was interrupted with the sound of a phone ringing. “Oh, that’s my mother.” He said apologetically after checking his phone.  
“Go on, answer it. I promise I’ll be back tomorrow.” Phil said and got up. Before Dan could have said anything Phil ran out of the café and back home. He did not even know himself why he felt the need to get out of the café. All he knew was that if he would be staying with Dan for a while longer, no one could guarantee for what Phil would be doing next.  
Before falling asleep Phil was sure that being cute should definitely be considered a crime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go. I am early cause I still have to watch Dan and Phil AND Yuri!!! On Ice. :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter! <3


	16. December 16th

DAN’S POV

He still couldn’t believe how nice Phil had been the evening before and how stupid his own mother. How could she think it would have been a good idea to call Dan in that precise time when all she wanted to tell him that his dad agreed to watch Jane Austen films with her this evening? As if that would have been a useful piece of information at any other time… Well the only thing Dan was sure that it was most likely one of the last things he wanted to hear as his mum practically chased Phil away. Dan sighed, only thinking about it and got out of his bed. If there would be any chance that Phil had liked that short evening just as much as he had, it would show this lunchbreak. Until then Dan had to wait and try his best to distract himself once again. When he arrived at the café Margret was already waiting for him. He smiled but she simply looked irritated.  
“How dare you?” she asked. Dan was immediately worried. Was it possible that she knew something about him giving Phil a Phot chocolate for free?  
“Sorry?” Dan asked scared.  
“How dare you make me seem lazy?” Margret asked and started laughing. Dan was relieved this wasn’t about Phil but he still did not know what to make from Margret’s words. He frowned and laughed slightly.  
“You organised all the cupboards! I meant to have done that ages ago! Thank you so much!” Margret said and hugged Dan. Dan laughed. It was absurd. It had basically been Phil that had made him do so. Phil. Dan sighed. He really wanted to see him again, no matter how weird that would be considering the fact that under normal circumstances he would just be a normal customer of Dan. Well as the circumstances were not normal at all it was not too weird for Dan to be looking forward to seeing Phil again, was it?  
Before Dan could think about it for too long he remembered that he had something to do. Today was after all the birthday of one of Britain’s most celebrated authors of the past. Yes. Dan was actually going to make a cake because it was Jane Austen’s birthday. He knew that his mother and Josie were big fans of her and he needed no more of a reason to start baking a fancy cake.  
Luckily baking the cake took a lot of time so as he was properly finished he had not only served several customers but Dan had also reason to hope that Phil would soon be walking through the door of the café. He only had to wait a few minutes before he saw the black hair. He started smiling immediately and started making a Phot chocolate.  
“A Phot chocolate.” Dan and Phil said in unison and started laughing loudly. Dan handed Phil the steaming cup and smiled brightly. Phil lowered his gaze and looked around the counter. He spotted the cake and made a surprised sound.  
“Did you make that cake?” Phil asked. Dan nodded. “Let me guess: it’s somebody’s birthday today, isn’t it?” Phil suggested happily.  
“It is. How do you remember?”  
“As if I would forget something as cute as that. Tell me, whose birthday is it?” Phil asked. He obviously did not notice how huge the impact was his words had on Dan. The later quickly swallowed and breathed: “Jane Austen’s.”   
Phil raised an eyebrow and started laughing. “My mum would be delighted that someone paid that close attention to her heroine.”   
Dan blushed and wordlessly put a slice of cake onto a plate for Phil. “There you go.” He mumbled and handed him the plate.   
“I can’t. Let me pay for it at least!” Phil begged. Dan shook his head and was really happy for Josie to arrive just in that second. Like this Phil could not pay and had to leave.  
“Look what I made, Josie.” Dan said proudly and showed Josie the cake.  
“Is it for whom I think it is?” Josie squealed.   
“It is.” Dan said and smiled even prouder.  
“You’re an angel!” Josie said. Dan quickly put two slices of cake onto two plates, handed them over to Josie and grabbed two mugs and the teapot. Josie happily sat down at a table and helped Dan pouring tea into the cups.   
“Okay now tell me, which book is your favourite.” Josie said and smiled gently.  
“I have never… I don’t remember.” Dan said quietly.  
“Don’t kid me. You do remember all the stories. So tell me, which one is your favourite?”   
“I’m a boy, Josie!” Dan complained.  
“I know and I don’t care.” Josie said and started eating her cake.  
“If you have to know I really like “Pride and Prejudice”.” Dan mumbled.  
“Pride and Prejudice?” Josie shouted and smiled cheekily. Dan buried his head in his hands but nodded. This was embarrassing but this was also Josie so he definitely shouldn’t care too much. Well he wouldn’t have if there wouldn’t have been a black haired man sitting behind him who could hear their every word and was probably laughing about his stupidity. 

 

PHIL’S POV

Angel. That was the one description of Dan that stuck with Phil. He heard Josie, a friend of Dan, say it and Phil simply knew that it was the perfect description of Dan.   
Phil sat down in his chair and tried his best to not appear like he was paying close attention to what Josie and Dan were talking about. So far it worked really well. First of all they hadn’t noticed him listening and secondly Phil now knew that Dan liked “Pride and Prejudice”. When Phil had been younger he had made the mistake of asking his mother how the whole love thing worked. In response to that she had made him watch and read all the Jane Austen novels. Phil had warned her that as him being gay they might not offer him realization but his mother had simply ignored him. To be precise she shushed him because she wanted to hear what the people were saying in the film. As if she didn’t already know all the words. Phil was slightly shocked as he realised that he had just thought about love in the same context as he had been thinking about Dan. Did this mean something? Phil decided to ignore his thoughts and continued sipping his drink. He was completely lost in thoughts that he only realised that Dan was standing in front of him as he cleared his throat. Phil looked up in shock and smiled shyly.   
“May I?” Dan asked and sat down after Phil had nodded. “So, what is your favourite Jane Austen novel?”   
“I can’t decide.” Phil said and shrugged.  
“I kind of like them all.” Dan said and added quickly: “But don’t tell mum. She would always urge me to watch the films with her if she knew I said that.”   
Phil laughed and nodded. His mother would probably do exactly the same.  
“What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” Dan asked.  
“Working.” Phil said and sighed.  
“Me too.”   
“Well your work isn’t as bad as mine. One really can’t compare our situations.” Phil said and sighed once more.  
“That’s true.” Dan said and laughed cheekily.   
“I wish I could do just as much as the gentleman did back at Jane Austen’s time.” Phil said quietly and blushed.  
“I bet you could. You would make a great Mr Darcy.” Dan said and Phil blushed even deeper, not daring to look up. Did that mean that Dan actually really liked him that he thought Phil could be his Mr Darcy?  
After a while Dan cleared his throat and Phil looked up. He checked his watch and noticed horrified that he was already too late to arrive on time.  
“I have to go now. Speak to you tomorrow. Sorry. I’m already late. Thanks for the cake!” Phil said and stormed out of the café. As he ran into the bank he was greeted with Mr Herb smiling and shaking his head.  
“I hear you want to bake a cake for us for tomorrow morning?” Mr Herb asked.  
“Tomorrow morning? I can never do that!” Phil shouted terrified.  
“Well you better have a cake on Friday then.” Mr Herb said sternly but smiled afterwards. Phil knew he was only making fun but he couldn’t decide whether he liked Mr Herb’s humour or not.  
All Phil could worry about that second was that he had to bake a cake. He couldn’t bake. Oh bullocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Have a great Jane-Austen's-BirthDAY... smh.. :D <3 See you tomorrow. :)


	17. December 17th

DAN’S POV

Dan was sure he had crossed a line yesterday with calling Phil a Mr Darcy. Even if it had been only indirectly he knew that the first thing Phil did afterwards was running away. Dan still really looked forward to seeing Phil again. If he would behave weirdly he would make sure that they stayed friends at least.  
Today Dan had nothing to distract him with. That was why he spoke to every customer that came through the door. It felt like he had never talked that much but as he saw Phil’s figure walking through the door it felt like he could speak for the rest of the day, at least with Phil. As he walked closer Dan noticed once again how fitting the name Phil was. After all it was a decent name but if one thought about it for a little while longer it could easily become one of the most beautiful things in the whole world.  
As Phil stopped in front of the counter Dan noticed horrified that he wasn’t exactly smiling that brightly. To be exact he wasn’t smiling at all. He was almost looking down. This emotion did not fit to Phil one bit and Dan knew that he had to do something against it.  
“A Phot chocolate for the gentleman.” Dan said as posh as possible and managed to make Phil smile.   
“Yes please.” He said.  
“There you go.” Dan said and handed Phil the cup a few minutes later. As he did so he paid close attention that his and Phil’s fingers were touching.   
“Thank you.” Phil said and a proper smile appeared on his face, which cause Dan to blush.  
“Everything alright?” Dan asked.  
“Yes. Sorry. It’s stupid. I’m simply worrying because I have to bring a cake to work tomorrow because I was late yesterday and well the problem is I can’t bake at all I even fail if all I have to do is stir something around in a bowl.” Phil said miserably.  
“You know what, I can help you!” Dan said out of nowhere and surprised both himself and Phil.   
“Really?” Phil asked.  
“Sure.” Dan said and blushed.  
“Would you mind coming over to mine this evening? I already have all the ingredients… I could come by the café and get you.” Phil proposed.  
“That would be cool. Thanks.”  
“I have to thank you.” Phil said and sat down as a new customer walked towards the counter.  
Dan greeted the customer with a beaming smile and all he could think of was that he would see Phil’s home later this day. He honestly couldn’t believe his luck.

 

PHIL’S POV

After the lunchbreak was over Phil returned to work and tried his best not to spend the rest of the time with staring at the clock. He nearly managed to do that. Only in the last ten minutes he constantly checked the time but that was allowed.  
The second the first one of his colleges started moving Phil jumped up as well and quickly walked to the café. He couldn’t possibly tell this Dan but it was most definitely an honour to have him coming with him back to his apartment.   
Phil knocked on the door of the café and waited for Dan to arrive. He came fairly quickly with several things under his arm.  
“Sorry. This isn’t supposed to be mean but I thought it would be best if I took some of my stuff with me so we can make a perfect cake.” Dan said and joined Phil. He handed him a few things so that he was able to lock the door.  
“That’s really kind. My colleges don’t even deserve that, but it’s very cute nevertheless.” Phil said and they started walking. The way home was mostly silent. Phil for one only dared to start speaking when he saw the building in which his apartment was at the end of the street.   
“Have I already told you how grateful I am that you offered to help me?” he asked.  
“You haven’t but it’s a pleasure.”  
“Thanks anyways.” Phil said and smiled. A few moments later he opened the door to his apartment and let Dan in.   
“That’s so cosy in here!” Dan shouted.   
“Thanks I tried to copy the work you have done in the café.” Phil said shyly.  
“Wow. Great job. I’m sorry but do you think we should start? Cakes normally take a bit of time before they are finished.” Dan said and smiled apologetically.   
“Not at all.” Phil said and led the way to the kitchen.   
They started backing in silence with just a bit of Christmas music playing in the background and Dan giving Phil instructions.   
After they had finished the first few steps Phil asked: “How do you spend Christmas day then?”   
“Back at home we used to go to the service after unpacking the presents obviously. But after the service our grandparents came and they always had presents for us with them which was really nice.” Dan told Phil.  
“My family and I have often been too lazy to go to church.” Phil said.  
“Really? That’s a shame. Especially now in December there often isn’t a place I prefer to be than in the church. Well the café is nice but the church has got a holy atmosphere kind of.” Dan said and smiled slightly.  
Afterwards they stayed silent for a long time again. Funny enough they did not even feel the need to talk. They simply enjoyed the other’s presence and the occasional body contact which always only happened by chance but always managed to make Phil blush. After what felt like an eternity the cake was finished. It was already out of the oven and practically already cooled down. Dan and Phil had discussed favourite Christmas presents they had received over the years which had been a lot of fun. As the cake was completely finished and decorated with icing figures which looked like father Christmas Phil was incredibly proud of his but mainly Dan’s work.  
“That looks amazing!” Phil said and smiled.  
“It does.” Dan said proudly. Phil nodded and got out his wallet.  
“How much do you get?” Phil asked.  
“Sorry? Do you actually want to pay me?” Dan asked and sounded hurt.  
“No. You misunderstood me. I meant the ingredients!” Phil explained quickly.  
“Oh. Nothing.”  
“Sorry?”  
“I don’t want you to pay anything. It was a pleasure to help you out so I won’t accept any money from you.” Dan said and folded his arms.   
“Really? Then let me pay for all the times you let me have something for free!” Phil begged playfully.  
“No.” Dan said sternly.   
“Why not?” Phil asked desperately.   
“Because when you first came here you always paid with a ten pound note? I’m not letting you spend all your money on this crappy café.” Dan said and laughed.  
“It’s not crappy. After all it’s yours.” Phil said quietly.  
“Thanks.” Dan said and beamed. “Okay. I think we are done here. I would actually love to stay but I have to get up early tomorrow so pardon me if I leave you now.” Dan said and smiled.  
“No problem and thanks again.” Phil said and smiled. He really had to supress the urge of hugging Dan. Luckily he managed to do so, otherwise it would have been pretty awkward.  
“See you tomorrow then.” Phil said as he guided Dan to the door.  
“See you.” Dan said. He seemed to want to add something but before he said anything he quickly turned around and left. Phil watched him for a pretty long time before he remembered that that was probably creepy and closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of this to come! :) <3 See you tomorrow! <3


	18. December 18th

DAN’S POV

The evening had been a lot of fun. Even in the morning Dan couldn’t stop himself from smiling while thinking about what happened. That was funny enough as he himself had nearly ruined the whole evening with blurring out that he might have feelings for Phil. Luckily he stopped himself so that Phil still only thought they were slowly becoming friends.   
Dan waited impatiently for his lunchbreak to arrive. Luckily he had Christmas shopping to do, which distracted him. Of course he asked before he dared to simply leave. Obviously Margret let him go so that he could buy all the presents he needed. There weren’t many but there were some. Luckily he managed to find something for each of those people which practically shouted out their name, so it really wasn’t hard at all. Dan bought some for Josie, Margret and (Dan didn’t even know why) Phil. Afterwards he returned to the café, Dan wrapped the presents in the office so that Margret would not even have a chance to guess what he had found for her.  
As he came back into the café he immediately spotted Phil… with another man. They were already sitting at the table Phil always sits at. Dan took a deep breath and tried his best not to look hurt. After all Phil could have told him that he had a boyfriend, couldn’t he? Dan walked over to Margret who was calculating something behind the counter.   
“Oh, there you are. That Phil boy wants to speak to you.” Margret said and smiled warmly. Great, now Dan would get to know Phil’s boyfriend. There were tons of things he could think of he would prefer to do at that moment. Still he walked over to the table. Phil did not notice him because he wasn’t facing him but his boyfriend was. He started smiling so Phil turned around as well. As he spotted Dan he smiled as well. No matter how sad Dan was Phil’s smile wasn’t something one could ignore, so he smiled back.  
“Dan. May I present to you, my chef Mr Herb.” Chef! The man in front of Phil wasn’t his boyfriend! It was his chef! Dan was delighted and smiled brightly.  
“Nice to meet you.” He said and shook Mr Herb’s hand.  
“So am I. I’m sorry I don’t have that much time so I have to start right away. Would you agree to bake a few cakes for the Christmas party of our bank? There would be several bankers around who would be delighted to seek your service in the future and of course we would pay you well.” Mr Herb said. Dan was completely overwhelmed and looked at Phil for confirmation.  
Phil nodded and explained: “It would take place on the 22nd of December. You would only have to bake a few Christmassy cakes like the one you did for today. It was delicious and it would make the whole party more agreeable if you could help us.” Phil said and winked at Dan.   
“It would be a pleasure.” Dan said and smiled insecurely.  
“So that’s a yes?” Mr Herb asked.  
“It is.”  
“Thank you very much. I fear I have to go again. We’ll speak again on Tuesday or I’ll let Phil tell you something. Have a nice day, bye.” Mr Herb said and vanished. Dan took a deep breath and had to digest the news. This was very good news indeed. It would help the café a lot. 

 

PHIL’S POV

This morning Phil was woken up by an amazing smell coming out of the kitchen. He got up to check what it was. He scuffled into the kitchen. When he saw the cake he remembered how much fun he had had yesterday evening. Even if they hadn’t talked too much Phil knew that they got along really well. Besides for his part the not talking had only been because he had been too shy in fear he might say something stupid. Not talking at all was probably not the way it should have been done but Phil couldn’t help it. It was still better than half confessing everything he had on his heart by accident.  
Phil sighed and buried his head in his hands. How was it possible that Dan did not only occupy a lot of room in his thoughts but also in his heart? He barely knew anything about him and yet again he was slowly but steadily falling for the young waiter who was forbiddingly good looking.   
Phil quickly got dressed to distract himself and because he did not want to arrive late again when he already had to bring a cake anyways.  
He carefully packaged the cake and carried it to the bank. Mr Herb was pretty impressed that he had made the cake with the help of a good friend. As he suggested that this friend could make cake for their Christmas party Phil had immediately been happy for Dan. A commission like this would surely please him. Mr Herb had accompanied Phil to the café to hear himself that Dan had said yes. Afterwards he left and now Dan and Phil were alone again.  
“I will make the cakes but I do have a condition.” Dan said.   
“Do you?” Phil asked scared.  
“Yes. You have to help me baking them on the 21st of December.” Dan said with a smile.  
“But I’m not good at baking!” Phil said surprised.  
“Well. But I want you nevertheless.” Dan said and stood up as the doorbell went off. If he had intended to make Phil feel this way could not be said by Phil but he was happy nevertheless.  
Phil spend the rest of his lunchbreak, okay the whole day and night trying to riddle out if Dan actually meant what he said like it sounded in Phil’s ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great Sunday everyone! I have to sing in a concert later so there you go with your early treat! :) <3


	19. December 19th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am awfully sorry! This is the new chapter! Today's chapter! Have fun! :) <3

DAN’S POV

This weekend Dan had no luck. He would not be excluded from work. He had to come to the café. Even though he really liked doing so it was a lot for his body. Yes, even a day in a café could be exhausting. Especially as a lot of people, more like the majority of the population did not have to work on a Saturday.  
While Dan headed to the café he called his mum to assure that he was doing (mostly) fine. In return she told him that they would not be spending Christmas in England but in South Africa. That was a shock to hear but Dan was happy for them nevertheless. After all his parents were grown up so they could do whatever they wanted. His mum was sorry that they would leave him home alone but Dan said he didn’t mind. That might have been a lie but Dan really did not want to ruin the Christmas of his family. Lying was definitely appropriate in that situation.   
Nothing too exciting happened for Dan until about twelve o’clock. That was when Phil came walking into the café. Dan immediately smiled brightly. Unfortunately this smile froze when Dan saw that Phil was with a very good looking man. Just because Mr Herb had not been Phil’s boyfriend did not mean that Phil did not have a boyfriend at all. To be fair it was most likely that he had a boyfriend. What should all those good looks be for?  
Dan sighed and tried his best to be friendly to Phil and his boyfriend. Just because Dan couldn’t have him did not mean that Phil shouldn’t be happy. That’s the spirit! Always stay friendly!   
Dan sighed deeply before putting on his best fake smile. Perhaps even the best fake smile in the history of planet earth.

 

PHIL’S POV 

“Surprise!” Martyn shouted into Phil’s ear. He had grabbed the phone absently when it rang in the morning.   
“Martyn, is that you?” Phil asked. It was very weird to hear his brother’s voice this early in the morning. Normally they never call each other, just in case of emergencies.  
“It’s me you scatterbrain. Of course it’s me. I’m right in front of your door by the way. I was supposed to spend my weekend with you, remember?” Martyn asked ironically.  
“Oh dear. I honestly forgot. I’m coming to open the door now. I’m sorry!” Phil called and ended the phone call. It was so embarrassing. Apparently Dan had occupied as much of his brain that he could not even remember inviting his brother over for the weekend.   
“Tell me, who is it?” Martyn asked as Phil opened the door.  
“I beg your pardon?” Phil asked and blushed, he couldn’t possibly know, could he?  
“Oh come on. You forget your brother and you’re blushing. I know there is someone!” Martyn said and walked on into the living room.   
“Alright.” Phil said and sighed. After all Martyn was his bigger brother and something in that status made Phil obey to almost everything he told him to do. After Phil had finished telling his short and embarrassing story, Martyn urged him to get changed so that they could go into town.  
“Why?” Phil asked while putting on some trousers.  
“Because I need to do Christmas shopping.” Martyn said.  
Only when they were walking through the first store Phil noticed that Martyn did not have to buy anything. He simply wanted to get Phil to go outside.  
“So this Dan works in a café?” Martyn asked innocently and suddenly Phil understood. Martyn had wanted him to go outside because he wanted to have a look at Dan.   
Phil sighed. “He does. Do you want to have a hot chocolate somewhere?” he asked resignedly.   
“I do.” Martyn said and Phil guided him to the café Dan worked in.   
As Dan spotted him he was not too happy to see him. Phil was kind of sad but he had Martyn to keep him entertained. Sadly Martyn kept asking Phil questions about Dan as loud as Phil feared Dan might hear them. That was why Phil decided to leave early. Martyn simply followed and continued talking.  
“You shouldn’t have been that loud.” Phil said when they were back in his flat.  
“Do you think he might have heard us?” Martyn asked shocked.  
“Probably not.” Phil said and noticed himself that he sounded sad. Not sad because hadn’t heard embarrassing things but because he hadn’t paid any attention whatsoever.   
“Sorry Phil. I did not mean to hurt you. You know what? Let’s put on some Christmas jumpers and watch a film.” Martyn suggested.  
“Do you even notice how stupid your suggestions are?” Phil asked but he laughed and threw a Christmas jumper into Martyn’s face.  
“I never do. Thanks for pointing it out.” Martyn said and they both laughed loudly.  
In the end the day turned out better than Phil thought it might but he still couldn’t forget the sad smile Dan had greeted him with. Was something wrong with him? Or did Phil simply misunderstand his signals? Whatever it was, Phil wasn’t happy about it.


	20. December 20th

DAN’S POV

If it was possible, Sunday was even worse than Saturday. Dan had no possibility to go to church to calm down a bit and he did not see Phil at all. To chase away his depressing thoughts he worked as hard as he could. This only made him be completely empty at the end of the day.  
Surely there had been nice things about Sunday such as Josie visiting him and telling him a bit more about German Christmas traditions which reminded Dan of the German girl To but all in all the day had been horrible.  
Dan could not even bare to think that he would still have to bake all the cakes for Phil’s Christmas party. There were several things he would have preferred to do but Margret had been really happy as Dan had told her so there was no going back now.  
At the end of the day, Dan collapsed on his bed without even a glimpse of light on the horizon. He felt empty, exhausted and sad. On a Sunday evening! Monday was going to be fun. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

Phil was not exactly happy with how his day turned out to be. He himself had set himself an alarm so that he could make it to a service but Martyn simply did not move and going all alone was not something really liked to think of. Going alone would only make him think of Dan and those kind of thought were nice but not comforting and perhaps not even suitable for a church.  
After Martyn apologized that he hadn’t been awake he started asking Phil questions about why he had wanted to go to church in the first place. Phil simply had to explain that he thought because Dan had said it was very nice to visit a service on a Sunday in December. Martyn had raised his eyebrows and quietly dropped hints of Phil being in love with Dan. Even though Phil had guessed so himself it was hard to accept it coming from someone else.   
In the end Phil could not make himself go to the café with Martyn. Martyn would surely not deliberately want to ruin the situation but Phil feared he might accidentally so staying home playing video games while wearing Christmas jumpers was the safest thing they could have done.   
The only event at the end of the day was Martyn leaving. Phil was definitely not glad to be all alone again but he wasn’t too sad that he would be able to talk to Dan properly the next the day. Oh boy, the next day! Dan and Phil would be baking together. Phil’s heart started beating faster as he thought about it and he blushed. He did not dare to predict anything but he was sure that if everything was still the same between him and Dan that he would have a lot of fun the next day. Well, rather if things changed back to normal. Dan did not seem to happy to see him the day before… Only time would tell…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is short. It will get longer eventually! :) See you tomorrow! Thanks for sticking to this story so loyally! :) <3


	21. December 21st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this will make up for the short chapter yesterday and me not being on point. Enjoy and see you tomorrow! <3

DAN’S POV

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the cleverest thing Dan could have thought considering that Phil had a boyfriend but he couldn’t help it: Dan was looking forward to baking with Phil today. He still decided to wait with buying the ingredients till after the lunchbreak. Perhaps Phil did not even want to bake with him. Dan had already had the impression when he had first asked him but with him having a boyfriend it felt like there was finally an explanation for Phil behaving weirdly occasionally. The explanation did not please Dan but at least he had one.   
The hours Dan had to wait for the lunchbreak to arrive, felt like hell but he survived them nevertheless. When he saw Phil through the glass door his heart started beating really fast, almost painfully fast. He did not want to but he simply had to smile as Phil walked towards him also wearing a light smile on his lips.   
“Hello.” Dan said.  
“Hello.” Phil answered. “How are you?” he asked while Dan prepared a Phot chocolate for him.  
“Fine. A bit tired.”  
“Me too. My brother has been with me over the weekend. Quite exhausting even if we did not do anything actually.” Phil said and smiled. He was speaking as if these were no news for Dan.  
“Your brother?” Dan asked and spun around.  
“Yes. You saw him. We had a hot chocolate in here.” Phil said irritated. It had been his brother! How could Dan have not seen the resemblance?   
“He was your brother, right… Well I know what you mean my brother has visited me three weeks ago and I was even more exhausted than I am now even if we didn’t do anything.” Dan rambled.  
“So you haven’t been ill?” Phil asked.  
“No!” Dan said and laughed.  
“I think I might have been seriously concerned for you that weekend!” Phil said and laughed as well. Dan blushed. He had not known that Phil had already properly noticed him up to that point.   
“I’m sorry. I have to work now but we’ll see each other later, won’t we?” Dan asked hopefully.   
“We will. I just come around?” Phil asked.  
“Yes. We’ll bake in the café if that’s alright for you?” Dan asked.  
“Anything.” Phil said. His warm voice and smile sent shivers down Dan’s spine.   
“See you.” Dan mumbled but smiled brightly.  
“See you.” Phil said and smiled just as brightly. Perhaps Dan did have a chance with Phil after all. Dan for one thought it was highly unlikely that Phil did have a “someone” after he had wrongly accused him two times in a row. Dan was extremely happy about these thoughts and happily worked on. He really looked forward to the evening that he did not even notice Phil leaving.  
Later that day Dan told Margret what he would be doing that evening. She allowed him to use the café immediately and offered him to take over the café for now so that he could go and buy all the ingredients. Dan happily agreed and hurried so that she did not have to do too much work. When Dan returned from his grocery shopping he worked on for two hours until Margret and him closed the café and prepared everything for his and Phil’s baking session. Dan was suddenly really nervous when Margret said goodbye, even though he probably did not even have a reason for doing so. Dan was still nervous when he heard Phil knocking on the door he also wished desperately that he had looked into the mirror at least once today. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

After having had a conversation with Dan, which set several things right Phil happily spent the rest of his lunchbreak in the café. Afterwards he finished work and raced home to get some probs. He did not get any utensils as he was positive that Dan would have them but he brought two Christmas jumpers and Christmas hats.   
After taking a deep breath he knocked on the door and stepped into the warm café.   
“Hello there.” Dan said and smiled.  
“Hello. Sorry I’m late. I wanted to get something from home.” Phil said and without any warning threw a Christmas jumper into Dan’s face.  
“Jesus!” Dan shouted. “Oh, that looks so cool. May I put it on?” Dan asked.  
“Yes but only if you wear a hat as well.” Phil said and grinned cheekily.  
“Don’t you dare to touch my hair!” Dan shouted while putting the jumper over his head. Phil quickly ran over to him and put the hat onto his head.   
“Phil!” Dan complained and spun around. That was when they both noticed how close they were. Phil could not help but to stare onto Dan’s lips. Dan cleared his throat and walked over to the counter.   
“Okay, let’s start then shall we?” Dan asked. Phil nodded and followed him.  
They started calmly and patiently and did not even make too much of a mess but as they had already finished four cakes, things turned to be quite… messy.   
Afterwards Phil swore it had been Dan who started throwing flour into his face. He obviously couldn’t prove it. The only thing one could prove was that there had been a flour fight judging by the whiteness of their faces and clothes.  
“You’re a mess.” Dan said and gently tried to rub off a bit of flour from Phil.  
“So are you.” Phil whispered quietly. Dan laughed and went over to the sink to wash the utensils.   
Phil did not know why but somehow it would have been a good idea to scare Dan who was washing up. He quietly walked behind him and gently touched his neck.  
“Jesus. Phil!” Dan screamed and poured water over Phil.  
“Dan!” Phil whined.  
“I’m sorry but that has obviously been your fault.” Dan said and started laughing.   
“Probably.” Phil said and grinned.  
“You have to get out of that.” Dan said and pointed at the wet jumper.  
“You would like that wouldn’t you?” Phil asked and laughed, surprised at his own words - but he would not show that. Dan blushed and wordlessly got out of his jumper and handed it over to Phil. Phil raised an eyebrow but then understood that Phil was to wear the dry jumper Dan had been wearing. Phil tried his best to get out of the wet jumper but it was harder than expected.  
“I might need a hand.” He said and smiled shyly towards Dan. Dan smiled back and slowly walked over to Phil. He pulled up the jumper and the t-shirt Phil had been wearing so that Phil stood in front of him with a bare chest. Dan held the wet clothes and let his eyes wander over Phil’s body. The gaze alone was enough to send shivers through Phil’s body.   
“Put on a jumper, you have goose bumps all over your… chest.” Dan said.  
Phil quickly put on his jumper, which still smelled a bit like Dan and rolled his eyes.  
“As if that was where the goose bumps came from.” Phil murmured into Dan’s ear. Dan looked into Phil’s eyes and Phil couldn’t take it anymore. He would not let Dan torture him in that way.  
Phil leaned forward and connected his and Dan’s lips. Dan was surprised but after a few seconds he moaned softly and put his hands into Phil’s hair, pressing himself closer to Phil. Phil smiled into the kiss. It was not only the most amazing feeling on the world to be kissing Dan it was also the best thing ever to know that Dan was enjoying the kiss just as much as he did.   
When Phil felt like melting into a puddle right where he was standing, Dan broke apart and looked at him. After starring into his eyes for a few moments he suddenly started laughing.  
“Sorry?” Phil asked and smiled irritated.  
“I did not think you would be doing that.” Dan said and smiled warmly.  
“Shouldn’t I have?” Phil asked frightened.  
“Shut up. Of course you should have.” Dan said and connected their lips again.  
It was safe to say that there was not much baking happening after this little incident with the water. But both Dan and Phil really enjoyed it that way.  
For Phil it was easily the best he had ever felt and by the way Dan’s brown eyes were looking at him the same could be said for him.


	22. December 22nd

DAN’S POV

Dan slept very well that night with a very warm feeling in his chest. He still could not believe that for once in his life the stars seemed to want him to be happy. How else should Phil have been interested in him in the first place? Dan shook his head and beamed. Whatever reason there was Dan was determined to be grateful for it.  
Today he would be spending his day not at the café but with Phil and Mr Herb in the bank. They wanted him to be present if one of the bankers wanted to contact him about his cakes. Dan was fine with that as that meant he could spend the day with the boy he had kissed several times last night. Once again the memory made Dan smile and he had to concentrate on getting ready so that he would not turn up late. Yesterday night they had agreed that Dan would take the cakes with him so that Phil could be present at the bank right from the start.  
Dan put on a nice shirt and rushed to the café. As he saw a few areas covered with flour the tingly feeling came back again. He could not wait to see Phil again. On a regular day he could not wait to see him but today the urge to look at the beautiful creature was overwhelming. Dan practically ran to the bank into the foyer and one pair of stairs up until he reached a decorated room. Phil was standing in the door, waiting for him. Dan’s heart missed a beat and he had to supress the urge of running into Phil’s arms.  
“Oh good, the cake.” Phil said and smiled. Dan handed him the cakes slightly irritated. “Be right back.” Phil mumbled and walked away. Dan was very confused by Phil’s behaviour but he decided to stay optimistic for the moment. He followed Phil into the room and positioned himself next to one of his cakes. As there wouldn’t be anyone that knew him like that he would only talk to Phil and people that were interested in his cake.  
In the end Dan did not talk to Phil at all. He didn’t even talk with anyone. He simply stood there and observed how the boy that had kissed him passionately the day before was now fussing around Mr Herb having eyes for no one but for him. Dan started feeling numb when he saw Phil behaving like this.  
Eventually it all became too much when Phil passed right in front of him and did not even bother to stop and talk to him. As quiet as possible Dan walked out of the room and ran back to the café. All he wanted to do was being alone to be able to erase Phil’s name out of his heart and his mind. It would be a tricky task but Dan was determined to get it done, after all that must be what Phil wanted him to do, erase everything that had happened between them from his mind. Before walking into the café he angrily wiped away some tears from his cheeks.  
An hour later Dan had almost recovered, well he would have if Phil wouldn’t have come into the café at that exact moment. He rushed over to Dan feelings of concern and anger rushing over his face.   
“Why did you leave?” Phil asked almost concerned, almost angry.  
“As if you wouldn’t know why.” Dan said and even though he managed not to cry he heard himself that he sounded hurt.   
“I don’t know why!” Phil said with a blank expression.  
“Whatever.” Dan mumbled and ignored Phil to serve the next customer. When he dared to turn around he saw that Phil had already left, a sight he never thought he would be glad about. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

No matter how stupid it was, it was important for Phil to make a good impression at the Christmas party. He did not even know why. He probably wanted to show Mr Herb that he was more than simply a useless boy. Unfortunately Phil’s tactic did not work out because as he walked through the room he noticed that Dan was no longer there. Phil knew immediately that he had done something wrong. Very wrong indeed. He shouldn’t have paid no attention to Dan. What was a stupid Christmas party compared to Dan?   
Phil knew that he had to speak to Dan and quickly sneaked out to talk to him at the café. As he walked towards it he became more and angrier with himself about behaving like this. It was embarrassing and not fair at all. Dan did not deserve anyone who treated him like this. But to be fair there was no one at the whole planet that would actually be good enough for Dan. Still Phil most definitely just ruined his chance of ever meaning something to Dan.   
If Phil had thought that already before talking to Dan in the café he couldn’t have been more wrong. Now after having talked to him he had ruined his chances. Before doing so there had still been a minor chance. Now there was none. Phil was still as determined as ever to fight for Dan. That was what Dan deserved. Someone that fought for him. A reason for Phil being this determined was him returning to the café after he had finished everything in the bank. He knocked on the door as he knew that Dan would still be in there. The chef came to the door and let him in. He smiled thankfully and walked in. Dan just came out of the office and froze as he saw Phil.  
“Listen, Dan. I’m sorry because of what happened.” Phil said apologetically.  
“Stop it.” Dan mumbled.  
“Dan, I’m serious.” Phil said, walked over to him and grabbed his arm.   
“You did not even look at me once! Everything you noticed was your chef.” Dan said and he looked disappointed.  
Phil did not know what to say so he said the one thing that could have possibly made this situation worse: “It’s important that he’s happy.”   
Dan freed himself from Phil’s grab immediately and even pushed him away slightly. “Thank you.”  
“For what?” Phil asked irritated.  
“For being honest with me. It’s good to know that you only used me. Well. It was nice to get to know this side of you before it would have been too late.” Dan said, tears glistening in his eyes.  
Dan took a deep breath and almost gently pushed Phil out of the café.   
“Goodbye.” Dan said sternly and locked the door. It was safe to say that Phil was perplex and did not know what to do. He only knew that he had made everything even worse now. He sighed and walked home. No one was there to see that he cried himself to sleep so he might as well have not done that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! See you lot tomorrow! :)   
> If anyone is interested as to what I have been doing today you can check out my twitter @BartelsJantje :) <3 My friends and I recreated our craft for Tatinof. <3 
> 
> Oh, and sorry for the repeated drama! <3


	23. December 23rd

DAN’S POV

Why was life this hard? Why could it never at least try with Dan? It was horrible. Dan felt like sleeping and crying all day but unfortunately he really couldn’t do that. Nothing could be done against Dan’s general lack of wellbeing. Perhaps he could talk himself out of work, but what on earth should he tell Margret? That a customer broke his heart and that he was unable to work because of it? As if she would believe anything of that kind.  
Dan sighed deeply and decided to get up. There was no point of actually moaning about the loss of Phil. First of all Phil had never actually been Dan’s and secondly if Phil had actually just been using Dan it definitely was for the best to part this early. Even though Dan knew that it was for everyone’s best he could not see the positive aspects in it. He was desperate and angry at the same time. He never thought he would get his heart broken around Christmas! Christmas had always been something special. It had seemed like nothing bad could ever happen in December. Well. It was safe to say that Dan was wrong. There definitely had happened something and now he wouldn’t even be able to spend Christmas with his family because they had decided to fly to South Africa for a change.  
Great.  
Like this, Dan was all alone. On Christmas and probably even New Year. Dan stretched his back and scuffled into the bathroom. As he saw his face he pouted and tried his best not to cry. He was behaving ridiculously but yet again, he couldn’t help it. No one would actually want him to feel great today, would they?   
It took Dan quite some time to get ready in the morning. He sighed a few more times before he put a scarf around his neck and walked into the chilly air. On any other day he would have been delighted to cool down slightly before walking into the warm and cosy café. Today he felt like crying and nothing else. The greyness of December was more depressing than Dan had ever experienced it. A great thought to start the day.  
Dan walked into the café and took deep breath. The café at least managed to make him smile slightly. But only until he remembered that it was nearly Christmas time and that he had no one to celebrate it with. Dan sighed deeply and lit the candles on the tables. He couldn’t bear to listen to Christmas music right now so he simply stayed silent and listened to his own heavy breaths. It really was as depressing as it sounded. After a few minutes the bells at the door rang. Dan looked up and saw Margret beaming at him. All he managed to return was a weak smile before he sighed again and looked onto his hands. He heard Margret walking over to him but he didn’t dare to look up. He sighed quietly and stayed quiet.  
“Is everything alright with you?” Margret asked and sounded concerned.  
“Yes.” Dan said and couldn’t supress as sigh.  
“No.” Margret said and Dan saw her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye.  
“No.” Dan agreed and sighed.  
“What is wrong, darling?” She asked and took his hand.  
“Nothing.” Dan muttered. Margret sighed and walked around the corner until she was standing right in front of Dan.  
“You tell me what’s up right now or I won’t be able to do anything but send you home.” She said and laughed slightly.  
“Do I lose my job?” Dan asked. On the inside he was frightened but he was very calm as he asked it. It felt like everything did not matter at all anyways.  
“No! For god’s sake! Of course not. You look ill and I want you to go home and recover!” Margret shouted surprised.  
“You are very nice but I have to distract myself!” Dan said desperately and finally looked into Margret’s eyes. He couldn’t help to tear up slightly.  
“Honey. You would not be of any use in here today. I fear you would have to find something else to distract you. I suggest you simply sleep for a good long time before you hopefully return tomorrow. I would really like to be more generous but I can’t ignore the fact that I desperately need you tomorrow if I don’t want to drown.” Margret said and smiled warmly.  
“Thank you.” Dan said deeply moved.  
“You’re welcome and now go.” Margret said and gave him a little push.   
“I will. But let me please take in the atmosphere a little bit.” Dan said and laughed weakly. “Are you sure you’re going to manage without me?” he asked concerned.  
“I’m positive I will. I mean I have to. You need rest and one of us has to work so I think we made the best off the situation.” Margret said and smiled. Dan returned the smile and for once today it was not hard to smile.  
“Would you mind serving the first couple of customers? I need to do something in the office before I can spend the rest of my day here.” Margret said.  
“No not at all.” Dan said. Somehow this conversation gave him back a little of his spirit at least for the short amount of time he had to work.  
“Thank you. I’ll be right back.” Margret said. Dan smiled weakly. That had exactly been the words Phil had used before ignoring him the whole day. But there was no point to think of Margret as bad as he thought about Phil.   
Dan’s thoughts were proven right as the doorbell went off for the fourth time that Wednesday and Phil walked into the café. Dan’s heart started beating painfully fast. He turned around immediately and ran into the office.  
“Margret. I can’t do it.” Dan breathed exhaustedly. Instead of saying anything Margret simply patted his shoulder and walked back into the café. Dan sat down onto a chair and tried to calm down. He waited a couple of minutes until Margret came back. She smiled pitifully and patted his shoulder once again.  
“He… left. I think it would be best if you went home right now.” Margret said quietly. Dan nodded. She was right. He could not survive this hell any longer. He stood up and walked into the café. He quickly put on his jacket and after he said goodbye to Margret he stepped out into the cold air.  
Dan started walking as he suddenly heard someone clearing his throat. He spun around and saw Phil leaning against a wall. Dan had to admit that his first thoughts were not filled with anger but more with admiration of how casual and yet beautiful Phil could look with simply wearing black pants and a jacket.   
“Margret said you left.” Dan said irritated.  
“Oh. Don’t blame her. I told her I would leave. I did leave the café as well but I simply couldn’t leave the opportunity to talk to you.” Phil said and sounded desperate.  
“Well. I’m sorry to tell you but you did in fact miss the opportunity to talk to me.” Dan said coolly and turned around.  
“No. Dan, please wait!” Phil called and grabbed his wrist. Dan looked into his eyes and even though he was still mad as hell he could not disappoint these lovely blue eyes right now. Dan took a deep breath and waited for Phil to start talking. Phil waited a few moments until he realised that Dan would not run away immediately and let go off Dan’s wrist.  
“Dan you… no, I behaved wrong. I know that now. But you also misunderstood a lot of things I did and said. Believe me, I couldn’t be more sorry!” Phil said and Dan knew that he could never stop to love him. Yet again he was more than certain that he would wait before he showed Phil. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

Phil could not believe Dan was giving him this chance to explain himself. He was more than happy to be granted with it as it would mean he had the possibility to set things right but he could never forgive himself if he would mess everything up right now.  
Phil took a deep breath and stared into Dan’s beautiful eyes.   
“Okay Dan. First of all you need to know that you are far too important for me. I could not bear the thought of losing you, even though I perfectly know that I never had any right to say you were mine but… I hope you get my drift.” Phil ranted. He looked for clues in Dan’s mimic. His face was like a stone but Phil definitely saw a few lively sparks in his eyes. This encouraged him enough to go on. After taking a deep breath Phil said: “To be quite fair I don’t exactly remember the reason why I behaved like a complete idiot. I think a part of me was simply afraid that I would lose control if I looked at you for too long. After all, all I could think of that day was the Christmas party obviously but also the night before. I… can’t go on about it but…” Phil said desperately and stopped.  
“I thought you only used me.” Dan mumbled.  
“What?” Phil asked astonished.  
“I thought you only wanted to have nice cake and that was why you even started talking to me in the first place. After all you did not behave like it was me that was important to you.” Dan mumbled and looked onto their feet.  
“Dan. I could… I would never use you for anything!” Phil said. It was a horrible thought that Dan thought Phil would think that little of him that he would simply exploit him. Didn’t Dan notice how special their kisses had been?   
Dan and Phil stayed silent for a few moments until Dan cleared his throat and said with a croaked smile: “What was that with you losing control?”  
Phil blushed and mumbled: “Nothing.”  
“Oh come on. Don’t tell me you’re shy all of the sudden.” Dan said mockingly.  
“Oh believe me, I’m not shy.” Phil murmured into Dan’s ear. He was really happy to see that Dan shuddered.  
“You’re so stupid.” Dan said and his façade finally fell apart. Dan started laughing and leaned his head onto Phil’s shoulder.  
“I know. And I’m sorry.” Phil said and gently nudged Dan’s head with his.  
“I do appreciate you being sorry but I have to go now.” Dan said and smiled apologetically after raising his head.  
“Now? Already?” Phil asked and couldn’t hide his disappointment.   
“Yes now.” Dan said sternly. “But. Who knows. I might be back in the café tomorrow.” He said and winked at Phil. Phil smiled and watched as Dan slowly walked away from him.  
“Bye, Phil.” Dan said and smiled one last time before walking around the corner. Phil beamed and took a deep breath. There was a good chance that Dan was able to forgive him in the future. To speed up this process Phil knew exactly what he had to do…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice Christmas Eve Eve! I'll upload tomorrow's chapter a little earlier cause there's a lot to do in the afternoon. See you then! <3 (Leaving comments and kudos feels like a Christmas present to me ;) <3 )


	24. December 24th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas Eve! <3

DAN’S POV

Dan couldn’t believe how happy life allowed him to be. If he compared his situation today with the one from yesterday it was easy to spot the huge difference between them. Dan got out of his bed and practically sprinted into the bathroom. He quickly took a shower and thought about the possible outcome of this day. Yesterday he had been surprised in a good way. It would be hard to make that happen today again. After he had talked to Phil and finally forgave him all the things he had done, to be fair there wasn’t really much more than one incident, Dan had walked around his apartment aimlessly, trying to figure out if he should be the one making the first step. In the end he calmed himself with the thought that he already invited Phil back to the café so the first step on his side was made. It was definitely up to Phil to make the next move.  
Dan took a few reassuring breaths, checked if he had everything with him and left for work. He had packed all the present he had for his friends. He could not wait to give them to the people he loved most in London today.  
Margret would leave him all alone after lunch as she would drive to her parents’ house on the countryside. Then Josie would surely come by as well and Dan really hoped Phil would too. Those were the three people Dan really wanted to see on that day and he was more than happy when his wish came true.  
Margret was surprisingly the first to receive her present. Josie had not yet turned up and there was no trace of Phil at all so it was Margret that received her present.  
Dan had bought it several days ago and was as surprised as Margret was when he saw how beautiful it was. He had bought her a beautiful étagère with a decent floral design. It was breath-taking and so was Margret’s reaction. She hugged Dan tightly and kissed his cheek before giving him his present.  
“You always forbid me to buy you anything but you get to buy me a present?” Dan asked mockingly while tearing open his present.  
“Of course I do.” Margret said and smiled excitedly.  
Dan finally finished opening the present and found no words to describe his gratitude. “You shouldn’t have!” Dan breathed. He had noticed right away that the package had been huge but he never imagined it to contain this! It was a big kitchen aid machine, an electronic whisk in black. It would be perfect and yet again Dan knew that he could never accept such a present from Margret.  
“I can’t take it.” He said sadly and pushed the box over to her.  
“You can. You will and you must.” Margret said and smiled.  
“That must have cost a fortune!” Dan said and whined at the thought that Margret had spent such a huge amount of money on him.  
“Even if it had been slightly expensive that’s nothing compared to what you made the café earn this year. You are the best waiter anyone could ask for. It was about time I rewarded you for all your work.”  
Dan started to tear up. He was not very sentimental the whole year around but when it came to Christmas he was definitely likely to shed a few tears.  
“Besides I really want your cakes to taste better.” Margret said and laughed out loud. Dan was thankful for that joke, as it stopped him from actually crying.  
“I’ll try my best.” He said mockingly and laughed as well.  
“Okay, listen, Dan. I want you to have the best Christmas you ever had. Promise me you will. Good. I have to hurry now. I’m sorry but I know you will be fine. Just leave whenever you want to. I wouldn’t judge you for leaving early. Just do whatever you want to do. Thank you so much for the étagère. Okay. Have a nice Christmas, like I said. I love you a lot. Stay safe!” Margret said and ran out of the café.   
Dan smiled and stood up again. There was still no one around and Dan had to wait for quite a long time before Josie came walking through the door. She was carrying a bag that looked really heavy and Dan was immediately embarrassed. He really liked receiving presents and perhaps even getting spoiled but it was hard as it felt like he could never give anything back to the people spoiling him.  
“Dan, honey! I’m so happy to see you. As you weren’t here yesterday I had already feared you might have caught ill but I’m happy to see that you haven’t. How are you my angel?” Josie asked and hurried towards him.  
“I’m fine. Thank you.” Dan said and smiled warmly.   
“Merry Christmas.” Josie said and handed him a present.  
“But Josie Christmas is only tomorrow.” Dan said mockingly and started opening the present.  
“I know but that’s how they are doing it in Germany. They celebrate on the 24th of December and they even wish themselves a merry Christmas before that.”  
“They are weird.” Dan said and laughed.  
“That might be true but they are very kind nevertheless.” Josie said and shrugged. Dan fought with a ribbon Josie had tied around the present so instead of talking he simply handed her the present he got for her.   
They were finished unpacking at the same time and were equally speechless.  
“Wow.” Dan muttered and turned around the present in his hand. It was a huge bowl made out of glass. Thick and colourful glass. It was quite heavy and extremely beautiful.  
“It’s from the same shop as I got you the angel from.” Josie muttered while looking at her present. Dan looked over and saw that she was really impressed but he felt like he had not even nearly given her enough. This bowl must have cost a fortune and there he was simply returning a small set of cups. He was embarrassed.  
“I’m sorry it’s not much. I simply saw them and thought about you. Thank you so much for my present.” Dan mumbled.  
“Not much?” Josie cried. “I’m honoured to receive anything from you! Thank you so so much! The mugs are beautiful! I honestly can’t thank you enough!” Josie said and kissed Dan’s cheek.  
“Are you being serious?” Dan asked sceptically.  
“Of course I am. You are my favourite person in the whole wide world. Of course I’m being honest! Thank you so much!” Josie said and Dan blushed.  
“You know what. I quickly wash your mugs and then we have a nice tea with a slice of cake before I sent you home.” Dan said and smiled.  
“That would be lovely.” Josie said and they had their tea together. They talked about Josie’s travels around the world and about Dan’s life in general. They had a lovely time but Josie decided leave and spend Christmas Eve with her family. Dan understood her so he simply served and talked to all the customers that came into the café.   
At around five o’clock in the evening Dan saw Phil coming into the café. He was just serving a few customers so he could not stare at him. All he noticed was that Phil was carrying a bag and that he was directly sitting down at his place without coming to the counter to order his drink, Phot chocolate, as they called it.  
Dan had to wait the whole evening until he got to speak to Phil. Apparently fate did not want them to speak just yet because Phil never stood up and if Dan had finally decided to go over to the table the bells rang and he had to serve a customer.   
When it was far over the time they usually closed the café Dan was finally alone. Well. Phil was still there but that was just how he wanted it to be.  
Dan decided to do the dishes quickly before he would make himself and Phil a Phot chocolate. When he started washing up he suddenly felt two arms being put around his waist. He blushed immediately and had to swallow and close his eyes for a few seconds before he was able to talk.  
“I haven’t yet fully forgiven you, you know?” he asked with a croaky voice.  
“Is that so?” Phil murmured into Dan’s ear. Dan smiled and chuckled slightly.  
“I might have but there is no need for you to not feel bad at all.” He said and turned around. Phil still had his hands on his waist.  
“I’m sorry.” Phil mumbled.  
“Shut up.” Dan said quietly and leaned forward. When he connected their lips he knew that all he could have asked for Christmas was now coming true. No matter how cheesy it sounded, Phil was literally the best Christmas present he ever got. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

Dan’s lips were incredibly soft when they kissed Phil. He smiled slightly and intensified the kiss. Dan pushed against him and Phil held him even tighter. First of all to keep Dan steady but secondly Phil feared once again that he might actually melt into Dan’s arms.   
“Merry Christmas.” Phil whispered as they broke apart, having difficulties with breathing. Dan hit his arm in response.  
“What was that for?” Phil asked.  
“You are not supposed to wish me a merry Christmas before tomorrow morning. Strictly speaking even only after the service.” Dan explained and laughed gently. Phil smiled as well. He loved the sound of Dan’s laugh.  
“Okay. I promise I won’t say it again till then.” Phil said and was rewarded with a sweet kiss. After they broke apart again Phil rested his forehead against Dan’s and smiled stupidly.  
“Shall we go home perhaps?” Phil asked.   
“Your home?” Dan asked and blushed.  
“Yes?”  
“Okay. You wouldn’t have had to bring that bag then.” Dan said matter-of-factly and laughed.  
“True but there are more things I would do for you than carrying a stupid bag.” Phil said. He hated himself for sounding this cheesy but there was no other way he could express what he was feeling in that moment.   
“You’re a dork.” Dan said. He freed himself from Phil’s securing grip and put on his jacket. Phil smiled as he saw how eager he was to get home. Phil waited for Dan to lock the café. They started walking in silence. After a few moments Phil was finally brave enough to grab Dan’s hand. Dan smiled brightly and they continued walking.  
“Look a Christmas market!” Dan shouted as they turned around a corner.  
“Would you like to drink a mulled wine?” Phil asked and smiled at Dan. Underneath the light of the Christmas decorations he was even more beautiful than normally.  
“I would love to. Yes.” Dan said and smiled. Phil couldn’t resist and quickly kissed Dan. This made Dan’s smile grow even wider which made Phil smile like a dork in love. Which might not have been completely wrong, to say the least.   
In the end Dan and Phil had several mulled wines. They were perfect against the cold. After they had been on a merry-go-round Phil decided it would be best if they headed home. He really wanted to be alone with Dan.   
When they arrived at Phil’s door, Phil saw Dan blushing. He truly was adorable. Phil smiled and unlocked the door. He let Dan enter and followed him into the living room. After getting out of their jackets, they sat down on the couch and looked at each other.  
“Why am I so fascinated by you?” Phil asked after a while.  
“You tell me.” Dan said and giggled.  
“You are the politest waiter I have ever met.” Phil said honestly and smiled.  
“No need to be this romantic, Phil.” Dan said sarcastically. Phil laughed and pulled Dan into a hug.  
“That wasn’t a lie, though. You really are the politest person I ever met. And you are gorgeous and I don’t know. I have never heard anyone laugh even slightly like you do.” Phil mumbled into Dan’s ear.  
“Stop it.” Dan said and looked into Phil’s eyes.   
“Why?” Phil asked quietly.  
“Because you are telling lies and one should not tell lies.” Dan said.  
“I’m not lying.” Phil insisted.  
“You are adorable.” Dan sighed. Phil blushed and was lost for words. “You really are. I might actually love you eventually. I’m not too sure. But you are pretty likely to be fallen for by me.” Dan said and laughed tipsily. He leaned forward and started kissing Phil passionately. Phil was overwhelmed by the kiss and could not do anything but kiss back. Only when he remembered that Dan was drunk he backed away and held Dan at distance.  
“Are you drunk by any chance?” Phil asked with a low voice.  
“Not really.” Dan answered and climbed onto Phil’s lap. Phil sighed and turned away as Dan tried to kiss him.  
“What’s wrong?” Dan asked disappointedly.  
“I don’t want to exploit you.” Phil said and turned back to Dan.  
“I’m not drunk.”  
“You are.”   
“Only a little.”  
“Still too much.” Phil said sternly. Dan pouted and gently stroke over Phil’s arms. “Dan, stop it.” Phil said and smiled gently.  
“Why would I?” Dan asked and smiled cheekily.  
“Because otherwise I won’t come with you to church tomorrow.” Phil said.  
“You are actually planning to come with me?” Dan asked astonished and stopped.  
“I am. But only if we sleep now.” Phil said.  
“I’m fine with that.” Dan said and leaned forward to give Phil a quick kiss. Phil could not protest against that so he simply sighed afterwards and carried Dan into his bedroom.   
Phil tugged Dan underneath the covers and snuggled next to him.  
“I love you.” Dan mumbled before his breaths started to get slow and even. Phil blushed and pressed a kiss against Dan’s hair. Even if he hadn’t told him yet, Phil loved Dan too. A lot to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you tomorrow for the last fluffy chapter! <3 Thanks so much for all the comments and kudos!   
> To everyone in Germany: Have a lovely Bescherung later today! <3 :)   
> And to all the others: Sleep tight and have a nice Christmas tomorrow morning.  
> To everyone: Be merry and be safe! <3


	25. December 25th

DAN’S POV

Dan woke up because he was suddenly very cold. He opened his eyes and was frightened for a second as he did not recognize where he was immediately. When he remembered that he had accompanied Phil home yesterday a huge smile appeared on his face. He rolled over in the bed and saw that there was no one lying next to him. He was slightly bummed but decided to get up nevertheless.   
Just when Dan walked out of the bedroom Phil came running over to him, wearing pyjamas and glasses. He looked adorable and Dan had to smile immediately.   
“I did not know you wear glasses.” Dan said.  
“And a merry Christmas to you.” Phil said and hugged Dan. “I have been dying to wish you a merry Christmas! How are you? Are you fine?” Phil ranted. Dan shook his head and kissed Phil. Phil was surprised at first but then turned around and pressed Dan against the wall. Dan intensified his kiss and was more than a little sad when Phil broke apart.  
“You are driving me mad.” Phil said and kissed Dan’s cheek.  
“And so are you.” Dan said having difficulties with breathing.   
Phil simply laughed and pulled Dan into the living room. He let go off Dan and shouted: “Don’t turn around until I say you may.”   
Dan did as he was told and waited for Phil to say “Now.”. When he did, Dan spun around immediately. Phil was holding a cake in his hands with a shy smile on his lips.   
“What is that?” Dan asked and walked towards Phil.  
“It was supposed to be a cake. I made it all by myself. That’s why it looks this crappy, I simply wanted to show you… how much I love you. I bet it tasted horrible but… You have done so much for me, concerning cakes so I tried to return the favour. I obviously failed but I tried at least, didn’t I?...” Phil asked and stopped insecurely.  
Dan stood there and shook his head. How did he deserve such a cute human like Phil?  
“Do you like it?” Phil asked shyly.   
“Phil.” Dan started seriously. “I love it. I love you. I mean. You are the best thing that happened to me. You are so cute and I… I don’t deserve you! Thank you so much. You trying your best is the cutest thing anyone has ever done for me!” Dan shouted and took the cake out of Phil’s hands, placed it onto the table and kissed him passionately.  
“So you do love me?” Phil asked as they broke apart.  
“How could I be any more obvious?” Dan asked. “You are by far the best present I have ever received.”   
“Why do I spend Christmas with a drunk poet?” Phil said and sighed playfully.  
“I can leave, if you want me to.” Dan proposed.  
“Don’t you dare.” Phil said and pulled Dan in for a kiss.  
“I love you.” Dan whispered with heated cheeks.  
“I love you too.” Phil mumbled and a shiver ran down Dan’s spine. Phil leaned forward to kiss Dan but the later suddenly remembered that he himself still had a present for Phil.  
“Wait a second. I’ll be right back.” Dan shouted and ran over to his bag, where he had left the present.  
“A merry Christmas to you.” Dan said as he returned to Phil. Phil eagerly opened the present and squealed when he saw what was inside.   
“How do you know I love pacman?” Phil shouted and stared at Dan with huge eyes. Dan had given him oven gloves with pacman on the front.   
“You wore a shirt once with it on the front.” Dan said and shrugged.  
“You noticed and remembered?” Phil asked unbelievingly.  
“Of course I did! It was the first time I saw you without a suit. Of course I remembered what shirt you were wearing. I remember quite a lot about you actually.” Dan said and smiled.  
“Is that so? Tell me.” Phil said and sat down on the couch.  
Dan and Phil spend a lot of time on the couch, simply talking to each other about how they first noticed each other. Dan could see that Phil was quite embarrassed that it had taken him so long to notice Dan but Dan didn’t mind. He was only thankful that the atmosphere of the café had been enchanting enough to make Phil come back several times.   
As they were both soon embarrassed with talking about the beginning they started talking about more random things, like why they were spending Christmas together. Dan told Phil that his family had decided to celebrate it in South Africa and Phil confessed that he had been selfish enough to wish for spending Christmas with Dan so that he told his family that he wouldn’t come.  
After a while they suddenly started talking about books. They were equally fond of Harry Potter and spoke about it for quite a while until Phil suddenly seemed to remember something.   
“You asked what my favourite Jane Austen novel is and I couldn’t tell you but I think I can tell you know.” Phil said. Dan’s eyes widened and he looked at Phil expectantly.   
“Persuasion.” Phil said plainly.  
“Why?” Dan breathed.  
“Because it’s about forgiving mistakes and finding back to each other.” Phil said quietly and leaned forward to kiss Dan. Dan wasn’t recoiling but leaning in and closing his eyes.  
“The only difference is that that it took them over six years to see that they have been wrong.” Phil said after they had shared a short kiss.  
“Oh lord. I wouldn’t have been able to wait that long for you.” Dan mumbled and kissed Phil again. This time it was a little rougher. There were a lot of emotions in there, to say the least. 

 

PHIL’S POV 

Phil had never been happier in his entire life. He was positive that this Christmas topped anything he had ever experienced. Perhaps ever will.  
That was why he was slightly disappointed when Dan broke apart and jumped up.  
“What’s wrong?” Phil asked concerned.  
“The service!” Dan shouted and Phil raced behind him in his bedroom to change into some decent clothes. He had no time to put in his contact lenses but Dan kindly assured him that he looked very cute like this.  
When they finished they raced out of the apartment and towards the first church they could find. They arrived just on time and sat down close next to each other.   
Dan took a few deep breaths before turning over to Phil and smiling brightly. Phil knew it would be inappropriate for them to kiss right now so he simply grabbed Dan’s hand and squeezed it.   
“I love you.” Phil whispered into Dan’s ear.  
The service was beautiful. Like Dan had said it was an amazing experience to feel so very comforted and safe within the building. For Phil this sensation was even stronger with Dan sitting next to him. He felt like for once he was completely happy with everything in his life. Dan offered him an amazing contrast to his dull life at work and to see the love practically beaming out of Dan’s eyes was a sight Phil hoped to see for the rest of his life and he was sure he could never be tired of.   
At the end of the service Phil couldn’t decide if he was happy that it was over now or if he wanted it to be a little longer. He wouldn’t have had anything against sitting next to Dan singing Christmas carols next to him but there was also something he really needed to tell Dan. And that was something Phil preferred to do at home.   
Dan and Phil spoke for a bit with other people attending the service. Everyone was wishing the other people a merry Christmas and it was more than lovely to see so many happy faces. Still Phil thought that Dan was the prettiest amongst them all.   
As Phil could finally get Dan to walk home with him he tried his best to stay calm. He was nervous and excited at the same time. Predominately he was simply enjoying to hold Dan’s hand in public.   
Phil’s hands were shaking slightly when he unlocked the door but he managed to stay mostly calm.  
“That was a beautiful service, wasn’t it?” Dan asked. Phil did not get to answer because he couldn’t stop himself from kissing Dan.  
“I take that as a yes.” Dan said and laughed when they broke apart.  
“I want to continue where we stopped last night.” Phil said out of breath.  
“You drunk?” Dan asked and raised an eyebrow.  
“Don’t you dare.” Phil said and frowned.  
“You dared last night.” Dan said and smiled cheekily.  
“I did not want to exploit you!” Phil said desperately and started kissing Dan’s neck.  
“So you said.” Dan breathed.  
“You don’t understand! You are far too important for me!” Phil mumbled into Dan’s neck.  
“Who’s the drunk poet now?” Dan asked mockingly.  
“Shut up.” Phil said and laughed.  
“Make me.” Dan said and winked.  
“Pleasure.” Phil said and sealed their lips together.   
At that moment, both of them were sure that that old fairy tale about the magic of Christmas had to be true. How else should they have been brought together?  
To be fair that was not exactly what they thought about most in that precise moment. They mostly enjoyed each other’s presence for the rest of the day.   
Eventually they left around dinner time and drove to Phil’s parents. Dan had persuaded him that family was the most important thing at Christmas. Phil tried to explain to Dan that he was the most important thing for him but he stopped suddenly when he thought that maybe one day Dan would actually be part of his family.  
Even though that was only a faint thought Phil could not wait for the day. He turned to look at Dan and admired how beautiful he was.  
“What are you looking at?” Dan asked and turned around.  
“The most beautiful Christmas present ever.” Phil said and quickly kissed Dan. Dan rolled his eyes but grabbed Phil’s hand and squeezed it. Phil was sure within the last four weeks he had not only found a best friend but also someone he would not mad about to keep for the rest of his life. Keep and worship that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. The journey that was this Advent Calendar is over now.  
> Thank you so much for everyone that read this story, left kudos and most importantly comments! Your comments really made my day! I hope you all realise how happy you made me!  
> Have a lovely Christmas (as it's still not over in the least!) and enjoy the last days of 2016! We will certainly see each other again (if you want to next year in December...) <3   
> Let me know if you would like to read anything from me. Just let me know... <3 :D   
> I love you all a lot! Share that love! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments and kudos to make my day! ;) <3 Thanks for taking a look! :D


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